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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: bore · bank · staff · field · nail · row · fall · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — a line
  4. bank — for money
  5. field — for sport
  6. staff — a stick
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. field — farmland
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. staff — employees
  12. net — in sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — employees
  16. fall — the season
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bank — for money
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — a subject
  21. bore — to drill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bore — to tire
  24. nail — for a hammer

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