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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: wound · fine · arm · court · net · file · can · row

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. can — a tin
  3. row — a line
  4. court — of law
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — after costs
  7. file — a tool
  8. court — of a king
  9. file — a document
  10. can — a tin
  11. net — for catching
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — for sport
  18. fine — all right
  19. net — in sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. file — a line of people
  23. can — to be able to
  24. fine — high quality

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