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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: mate · wind · net · chest · fan · last · kid · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. net — in sport
  3. mate — a friend
  4. net — after costs
  5. last — final
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. chest — a box
  9. kid — child
  10. net — for catching
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. last — finally
  20. kid — to tease
  21. last — to go on
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — of your body

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