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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 · ball · lean · hand · toast · mark · chest · key

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — for catching
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. key — for a lock
  5. hand — help
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. net — in sport
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ball — a dance
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. lean — thin
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. key — in music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. toast — bread
  19. ball — a great time
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. key — the most important part
  24. chest — of your body

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