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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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: fork · net · hand · fine · last · lean

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — after costs
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — final
  6. fork — in a road
  7. lean — thin
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. lean — to bend
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. hand — part of the body

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