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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: trunk · hand · band · mate · drill · net · squash · mine

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. band — a music group
  4. squash — to crush
  5. net — in sport
  6. hand — help
  7. squash — the sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. band — a ring
  10. mate — a friend
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mate — a partner
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. net — after costs
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mine — for digging
  18. drill — army training
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mate — to breed
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a rubber band

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