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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: cold · lash · foot · saw · kick · mate · net · bound

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. net — in sport
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. kick — in football
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bound — certain
  11. cold — not warm
  12. net — after costs
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mate — to breed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mate — a partner
  21. cold — an illness
  22. net — for catching
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cold — the Cold War

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