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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · dip · hand · kid · drill · rush · race · net

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. drill — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. hand — help
  11. rush — hurry
  12. dip — to sink
  13. drill — a practice
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — a box
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kid — child
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — in sport

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