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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: kid · net · season · nail · swing · fork · rock · drill

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rock — a stone
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. net — after costs
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. drill — a practice
  11. swing — in golf
  12. drill — army training
  13. kid — to tease
  14. swing — music
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — child
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. season — of the year
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — in sport
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. drill — the tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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