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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: board · spring · pitch · cell · race · net · last · wake

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. net — for catching
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — the arms race
  6. net — in sport
  7. last — to go on
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wake — a trail
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — humankind
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — a contest
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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