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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · mate · leaves · wind · spring · rash · net · land

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — in sport
  3. rash — a series
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. file — a tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — hasty
  12. land — a country
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a line of people
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. land — ground
  17. mate — a friend
  18. net — for catching
  19. mate — to breed
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — to turn a key

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