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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: wake · hand · pitcher · bear · wind · fine · field · net

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. net — after costs
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. net — for catching
  8. hand — in cards
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — in sport
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — all right
  18. bear — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. field — for sport
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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