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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: net · hide · pass · bat · bank · spell · march · mine

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. spell — letters
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bank — for money
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pass — a permit
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. net — for catching
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — for digging

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