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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: chest · mine · date · coach · wound · drill · arm · club

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — a box
  5. date — the fruit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. drill — army training
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — for dancing
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chest — of your body
  22. club — for golf
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chest — of your body

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