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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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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: wind · mate · net · chest · kid · stand · perch · cue

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. perch — the fish
  7. net — after costs
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chest — a box
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cue — a signal
  16. kid — child
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. net — in sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mate — to breed
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — moving air

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