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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · file · key · kid · net · lean · season · cold

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. key — in music
  3. net — for catching
  4. key — the most important part
  5. season — of the year
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — thin
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. file — a document
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — child
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. key — for a lock
  22. season — in sport
  23. net — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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