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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · cold · fork · net · pitcher · bound · wax · craft

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. craft — boats
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. net — for catching
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — in sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pitcher — a jug

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