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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: can · roll · club · net · wake · cabinet · ground · wound

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ground — crushed
  5. club — for golf
  6. net — in sport
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. can — to be able to
  10. ground — a position
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wound — an injury
  14. roll — a list
  15. net — for catching
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. can — a tin
  19. club — a group
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ground — the earth
  22. can — a tin
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cabinet — ministers

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