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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 · land · bank · rush · degree · hand · lean · cell

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rush — hurry
  7. net — after costs
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. land — ground
  13. net — in sport
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cell — in biology
  21. net — for catching
  22. hand — help
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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