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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. band — a music group
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. kid — to tease
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. hand — help
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. kid — child
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. saw — the tool
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — the tool
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. cabinet — ministers

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