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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: hide · stem · net · kick · drill · bat · wound · chest

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. net — after costs
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chest — of your body
  13. net — for catching
  14. chest — a box
  15. drill — the tool
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. net — in sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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