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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · band · net · last · wind · bat

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — finally
  5. net — for catching
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — army training
  13. net — after costs
  14. band — a music group
  15. net — in sport
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. band — a ring

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