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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: net · cap · kid · wound · mate · leaves · press · drill

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mate — to breed
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. drill — the tool
  6. net — for catching
  7. cap — a lid
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cap — a hat
  11. press — a publisher
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. drill — a practice
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. net — after costs
  16. mate — a partner
  17. wound — an injury
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. mate — a friend
  20. press — to push
  21. drill — army training
  22. press — newspapers
  23. net — in sport
  24. cap — of ice

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