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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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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: game · drill · tube · prune · lie · chip · fan · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. drill — a practice
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. net — after costs
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tube — a container
  9. chip — for betting
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. game — wild animals
  15. lie — to recline
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — in sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a match
  24. lie — an untruth

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