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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: can · rock · drill · cold · kick · net · racket · key

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kick — in football
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rock — a stone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. can — a tin
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — in sport
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. drill — army training
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — the most important part
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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