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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: row · drill · last · nail · net · wind · staff · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. staff — employees
  3. drill — a practice
  4. staff — employees
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wind — moving air
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. last — final
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. drill — army training
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. net — in sport
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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