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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: press · kid · drill · net · patient · straw · arm · plane

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kid — child
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. press — newspapers
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. plane — a tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. net — for catching
  14. press — a publisher
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. press — to push
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. drill — a practice
  22. net — in sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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