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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lie · rash · bass · hide · drill · net · bat · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. bass — the fish
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rash — a series
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bat — the animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. bass — low music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. net — in sport
  15. drill — army training
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. drill — a practice
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lie — to recline

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