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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: lash · rock · net · wind · mine · fork · content · kid

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rock — a stone
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. net — for catching
  13. kid — to tease
  14. content — happy
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — the amount
  18. wind — moving air
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. rock — music
  23. net — after costs
  24. kid — child

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