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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: wound · drill · row · cabinet · pop · spring · chest · roll

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chest — a box
  4. drill — the tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — the season
  10. pop — music
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — of water
  18. roll — a list
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. row — a line
  21. pop — to visit
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pop — soda

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