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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chest · roll · bass · spring · drill · pit · coach · mouse

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. roll — a list
  4. spring — a coil
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bass — low music
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. drill — a practice
  17. spring — of water
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — the season
  22. bass — the fish
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mouse — the animal

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