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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: net · drill · dip · pound · coach · last · pit · date

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — final
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. net — after costs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. net — in sport
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — to go on
  11. pit — a hole
  12. dip — to sink
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. net — for catching
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. date — the fruit
  17. drill — the tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. last — finally
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. drill — army training
  23. pit — in a race
  24. drill — a practice

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