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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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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: bark · coach · bank · cell · drill · kid

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kid — child

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