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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: club · rule · cabinet · hide · wake · lean · bat · net

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — in sport
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lean — thin
  11. rule — government
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. club — for golf
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. club — a group
  24. net — after costs

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