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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: nail · bay · racket · drill · bound · kid · last · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. club — a group
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — child
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — army training
  12. club — for dancing
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bound — obliged
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. last — final
  24. kid — to tease

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