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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: rock · dip · hide · race · mine · drill · row · squash

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. row — to paddle
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. drill — army training
  6. squash — to crush
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rock — music
  13. race — humankind
  14. rock — a stone
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. squash — the sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — to keep secret

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