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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: fan · drill · net · kid · chest · pound · mouse · mate

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — a box
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. kid — to tease
  10. net — in sport
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. net — for catching
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — a weight
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. net — after costs
  23. drill — army training
  24. pound — to hit hard

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