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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: drill · leaves · net · pitcher · tear · club · roll · straw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. net — in sport
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tear — from crying
  7. roll — a list
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. roll — a cake
  10. club — a group
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. club — for golf
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. drill — the tool
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. net — for catching
  24. club — for dancing

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