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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: trunk · fall · hide · fine · game · pop · mate · net

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. net — after costs
  4. fine — high quality
  5. game — a match
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. fine — all right
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fall — to drop
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mate — to breed
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — for catching

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