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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: net · chest · staff · drill · rule · scale · mark · spell

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — army training
  4. rule — government
  5. scale — size or range
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rule — a law
  9. mark — a trace
  10. net — for catching
  11. drill — a practice
  12. scale — in music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. drill — the tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. spell — letters
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — magic
  23. net — in sport
  24. mark — a grade

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