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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: stem · coach · roll · land · hide · file · drill · charge

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. charge — electricity
  11. drill — army training
  12. land — ground
  13. stem — to come from
  14. land — a country
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. land — to come down
  22. charge — in control
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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