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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 120 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: racket · nail · lie · net · face · hand · straw · rock

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. face — to confront
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rock — music
  10. net — in sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. net — for catching
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. hand — help
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. hand — in cards
  19. face — to point toward
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rock — a stone
  22. face — part of the head
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. lie — an untruth

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