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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — for catching
  3. firm — a company
  4. band — a ring
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. firm — steady
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. ground — the earth
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a music group
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. firm — decided
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — crushed
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ground — a position
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com