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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: lean · perch · fall · hand · bat · net · rock · band

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. band — a music group
  3. net — after costs
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — in cards
  6. net — for catching
  7. fall — the season
  8. rock — a stone
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. net — in sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. rock — music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — to bend
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a ring
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rock — to move gently

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