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

Word bank: row · stem · chest · net · file · kick · pitch · drill

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. file — a tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. kick — in football
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. drill — a practice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — army training
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — to come from
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. file — a line of people
  15. net — for catching
  16. chest — a box
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. drill — the tool
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kick — a thrill

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