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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: rest · arm · clip · drill · key · bat · net · rock

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. key — the most important part
  4. net — in sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — the tool
  8. key — for a lock
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rock — music
  14. rest — a break
  15. net — for catching
  16. drill — a practice
  17. clip — a video
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. key — in music
  22. drill — army training
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rock — a stone

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