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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 120 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: game · bat · bear · rash · drill · hide · net · pass

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. net — for catching
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. drill — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — after costs
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. drill — army training
  18. bat — the animal
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. net — in sport
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rash — a series
  24. hide — to keep secret

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