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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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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: file · present · chest · drill · bowl · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. drill — army training
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a tool
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. chest — a box
  13. file — a document
  14. present — there
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now

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