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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · fine · sharp · key · straw · lash · net · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. key — the most important part
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. fine — high quality
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. net — for catching
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — to come down
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. key — in music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. land — a country
  17. key — for a lock
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fine — all right
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — after costs
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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