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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 120 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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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 · row · hand · saw · bore · drill · ground

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chip — to eat
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bore — to drill
  6. hand — help
  7. ground — a position
  8. chest — a box
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ground — the earth
  14. chip — for betting
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — army training
  18. bore — to tire
  19. hand — in cards
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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