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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 · band · fork · craft · land · pound · spell · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — a country
  9. craft — a skill
  10. fork — in a road
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — for catching
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — letters

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