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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: bound · foot · game · drill · net · kid · prune · object

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  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. net — after costs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. net — for catching
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — army training
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. object — a thing
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bound — obliged
  14. drill — the tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. foot — a measure
  17. drill — a practice
  18. kid — to tease
  19. object — an aim
  20. kid — child
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. game — a match
  23. object — to protest
  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