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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. rest — what's left
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — to drop
  6. net — after costs
  7. rest — what's left
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. net — for catching
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. board — a committee
  14. rest — a break
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fall — to drop
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — in cards
  22. fall — the season
  23. saw — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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