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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: drill · kid · bat · bass · game · tube · wound · net

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. drill — the tool
  5. tube — a container
  6. net — for catching
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — a match
  9. net — after costs
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — the underground
  13. net — in sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bat — the animal
  21. kid — child
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — the fish

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