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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 116 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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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 · fork · drill · last · cold · nail · kick · hide

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. last — to go on
  8. drill — a practice
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. last — final
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — finally
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. drill — army training
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — an illness

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