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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: coach · track · drill · mine · wake · fan · cap · chest

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. track — a song
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a path
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wake — a trail
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. drill — army training
  24. coach — a trainer

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