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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. net — after costs
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. drill — army training
  7. kick — in football
  8. row — a line
  9. content — the amount
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. drill — a practice
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. drill — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — for catching
  21. row — to paddle
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. march — music

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