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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: ground · band · spring · fall · fine · pop · net · object

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pop — soda
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a music group
  17. net — after costs
  18. ground — the earth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ground — a position
  21. object — a thing
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. spring — the season

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