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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 120 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 · staff · drill · kid · present · content · club · land

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. present — a gift
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. land — a country
  6. content — happy
  7. land — to come down
  8. club — a group
  9. content — the amount
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. present — the time now
  12. drill — the tool
  13. staff — employees
  14. net — after costs
  15. drill — a practice
  16. present — there
  17. staff — employees
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. club — for golf
  20. drill — army training
  21. staff — a stick
  22. net — in sport
  23. club — for dancing
  24. kid — child

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