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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 · land · net · roll · track · leaves · bat · mine

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bat — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. drill — army training
  6. roll — a list
  7. drill — a practice
  8. track — a path
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. land — to come down
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. net — for catching
  15. roll — a cake
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. land — a country
  21. net — in sport
  22. land — ground
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — after costs

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