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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: mate · hand · game · foot · cell · wind · wave · net

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cell — a phone
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. net — for catching
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. mate — a partner
  13. game — a match
  14. net — after costs
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hand — help

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