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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: bat · stand · file · drill · object · spring · net · band

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — the animal
  5. object — an aim
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — in sport
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. spring — the season
  14. net — for catching
  15. object — a thing
  16. stand — to bear
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a music group
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. stand — for spectators

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