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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: net · chest · foot · fan · band · bound · cabinet · wind

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bound — tied together
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. net — for catching
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a music group
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chest — a box
  22. bound — certain
  23. band — a ring
  24. wind — to turn a key

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