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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: last · pound · net · bat · firm · saw · rash · swing

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — for catching
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. last — to go on
  5. swing — music
  6. net — after costs
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — the animal
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pound — a weight
  16. rash — a series
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — a company
  19. swing — in golf
  20. last — final
  21. firm — decided
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — the tool

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