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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 · roll · chest · kick · saw · scale · net · pitch

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — completely
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. net — in sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — a list
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — for catching
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kick — in football
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — a box

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