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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 · rule · firm · last · content · track · hand

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — a company
  3. last — final
  4. hand — help
  5. firm — decided
  6. net — in sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. last — to go on
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. rule — government
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hand — in cards
  17. content — happy
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. net — for catching
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rule — a law
  24. last — finally

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