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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kick — in football
  3. drill — a practice
  4. degree — an amount
  5. hand — in cards
  6. net — for catching
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. drill — army training
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — a line
  15. hand — help
  16. net — after costs
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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