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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. net — for catching
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. season — in sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. net — after costs
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a ring
  13. bank — for money
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bank — of a river
  16. net — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. toast — bread
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a music group
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wind — to turn a key

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