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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: spring · fan · nail · foot · mine · net · pit · row

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — the season
  11. mine — for digging
  12. spring — of water
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. net — for catching
  18. pit — a hole
  19. net — after costs
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pit — in a race

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