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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 116 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 · last · firm · coach · kid · mate · prune · bat

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. last — finally
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — final
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. firm — decided
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. firm — steady
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — child
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. firm — a company
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. net — in sport

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