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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. drill — army training
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. hand — help
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rush — hurry
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. drill — a practice
  21. kid — child
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. net — after costs

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