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

Word bank: wind · chest · wake · stand · net · ground · band · stick

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. chest — a box
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. net — after costs
  9. ground — a position
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. band — a ring
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a music group
  19. net — in sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. net — for catching
  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