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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. drill — a practice
  4. net — after costs
  5. lie — to recline
  6. chest — of your body
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. net — in sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — moving air
  16. date — the fruit
  17. net — for catching
  18. club — a group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. drill — army training
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — on the calendar

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