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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: club · fall · net · suit · cold · bat · present · hide

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. suit — to fit
  5. suit — in cards
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — for golf
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fall — the season
  20. suit — clothes
  21. present — the time now
  22. bat — the animal
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fall — to drop

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