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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: bat · wake · spring · band · race · wave · net · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. net — for catching
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — there
  7. net — after costs
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spring — of water
  12. present — the time now
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. net — in sport
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. band — a ring
  20. race — humankind
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. race — a contest
  24. band — a rubber band

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