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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 · rest · bat · hand · lash · wave · foot · firm

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. firm — a company
  4. net — in sport
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. net — for catching
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. firm — decided
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rest — what's left
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — help
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rest — a break
  22. firm — steady
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rest — what's left

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