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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: rush · net · hand · hide · drill · kid · fall · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. drill — the tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. fall — to drop
  5. hand — help
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. drill — army training
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. net — in sport
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fall — the season
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — to tease
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kid — child
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. drill — a practice
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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