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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.

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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: march · wind · pound · lash · season · mate · net · stick

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. net — for catching
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. net — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. season — in sport
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. season — of the year
  12. net — after costs
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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