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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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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: band · wind · perch · straw · fine · lean · net · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lean — thin
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — after costs
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fine — high quality
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. band — a ring
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. net — in sport
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. perch — the fish
  19. band — a music group
  20. fine — all right
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — a company

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