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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: pop · season · band · net · fork · wind · calf · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — soda
  8. net — in sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a music group
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a ring
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. season — of the year
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — music
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. season — in sport
  24. calf — a young 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