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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 116 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: safe · craft · drill · kid · saw · court · net · cue

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. kid — child
  4. cue — a hint
  5. net — for catching
  6. cue — a signal
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — to tease
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cue — for pool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of law
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — boats
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. drill — the tool

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