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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 · chip · present · kick · coach · saw · drill · march

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kick — in football
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. present — there
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. present — a gift
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chip — to eat
  24. march — music

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