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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: net · hand · drill · kid · object · saw · season · pitcher

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. hand — help
  3. object — to protest
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — the tool
  9. object — an aim
  10. season — in sport
  11. drill — a practice
  12. net — in sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. net — for catching
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. object — a thing
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. season — of the year
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — the tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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