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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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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: wind · field · roll · fall · net · pop · stand · mouse

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — after costs
  5. field — farmland
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pop — music
  9. roll — a list
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — a subject
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. roll — a cake
  19. field — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. net — in sport
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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