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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: mark · net · rush · chest · ground · band · hide · spell

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mark — a trace
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — a short time
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spell — letters
  11. net — after costs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mark — a grade
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rush — hurry
  17. band — a music group
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chest — a box
  20. ground — a position
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — magic

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