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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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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: wound · board · nail · land · rash · coach · net · hand

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. board — to get on
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rash — a series
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — ground
  21. wound — an injury
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. net — for catching
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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