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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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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: wind · mine · net · spell · board · fall · jam · cell

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. net — after costs
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. net — in sport
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fall — to drop
  12. board — a committee
  13. cell — in biology
  14. board — to get on
  15. net — for catching
  16. spell — magic
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. spell — letters
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cell — a phone

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