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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: wind · suit · net · mark · face · ball · hand · object

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. object — to protest
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. suit — clothes
  6. net — for catching
  7. face — to confront
  8. net — after costs
  9. mark — a grade
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. object — a thing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mark — a trace
  17. face — part of the head
  18. net — in sport
  19. object — an aim
  20. face — to point toward
  21. suit — in cards
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. hand — in cards

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