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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 120 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: band · foot · last · chest · craft · spring · net · lie

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — after costs
  4. last — finally
  5. net — in sport
  6. craft — a skill
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. craft — boats
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. last — to go on
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. spring — the season
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. foot — a measure
  22. lie — to recline
  23. band — a ring
  24. spring — of water

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