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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: stand · coach · face · kid · nail · tear · net · spring

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. net — for catching
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tear — to rip
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. net — in sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. spring — of water
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — child
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — to bear
  24. face — to confront

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