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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: cap · nail · kid · drill · net · bank · pop · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. net — for catching
  3. pop — soda
  4. bank — of a river
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bank — for money
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — child
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. drill — a practice
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — in sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — a contest
  18. drill — army training
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — the arms race
  22. drill — the tool
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bank — for money

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