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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: leaves · net · date · wind · racket · bat · pop · fork

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — in sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pop — to visit
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. net — after costs
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — for catching
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — soda
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pop — music

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