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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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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: wound · net · kid · stand · foot · arm · fan · fall

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. stand — to bear
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kid — child
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. foot — a measure
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  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