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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: craft · club · hide · drill · net · pound · row · pitcher

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. net — after costs
  3. row — a line
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pound — a weight
  9. net — in sport
  10. club — a group
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. craft — boats
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. club — for dancing
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. drill — army training
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. hide — animal skin

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