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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: foot · staff · wind · shower · rash · net · scale · pass

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. net — after costs
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. staff — employees
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rash — hasty
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. shower — rain
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pass — a permit
  16. net — in sport
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. rash — a series
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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