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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: net · bulb · coach · kid · saw · band · firm · file

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. firm — decided
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. firm — a company
  5. net — after costs
  6. bulb — for light
  7. file — a tool
  8. kid — child
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. file — a line of people
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. net — in sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. bulb — for light
  15. saw — the tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. net — for catching
  18. firm — steady
  19. file — a document
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. saw — the tool
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. band — a music group

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