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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 · nail · drill · cue · racket · tube · land · chest

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cue — for pool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — ground
  9. drill — army training
  10. tube — the underground
  11. drill — a practice
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. chest — a box
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. tube — a container
  20. land — to come down
  21. drill — the tool
  22. cue — a hint
  23. land — a country
  24. tube — in a tire

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