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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — to tease
  4. net — after costs
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. drill — a practice
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. fine — high quality
  10. season — in sport
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. drill — army training
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. fine — all right
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. bore — to drill

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