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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.

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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 · stand · hand · bore · cabinet · spring · bass · bat

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. hand — help
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. net — for catching
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stand — for spectators

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