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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: net · hand · cold · lie · club · firm · fork · trunk

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cold — not warm
  4. club — for dancing
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. hand — help
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. firm — decided
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. lie — to recline
  23. net — after costs
  24. hand — part of the 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