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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: degree · roll · chest · coach · chip · wind · drill · bay

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — for betting
  9. degree — temperature
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. roll — a list
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — a practice
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — of your body
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. chip — to eat
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chest — a box

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