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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · perch · net · cue · drill · band · last · can

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. can — to be able to
  3. drill — a practice
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — final
  8. net — in sport
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. band — a music group
  13. net — after costs
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. last — finally
  20. cue — a hint
  21. drill — army training
  22. can — a tin
  23. net — for catching
  24. can — a tin

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