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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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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: pit · stick · nail · net · wake · row · scale · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. net — after costs
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. kid — child
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — size or range
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kid — to tease
  11. net — for catching
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. row — a line
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — in music
  19. net — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pit — a hole
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. pit — in a race

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