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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 116 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: bass · fork · rush · net · file · hand · fine · bat

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. net — for catching
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fine — all right
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. hand — help
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. net — in sport
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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