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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: chair · pitcher · rash · saw · track · hide · trunk · drill

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rash — hasty
  4. track — a song
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — a path
  11. drill — army training
  12. rash — a series
  13. chair — a leader
  14. saw — the tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. track — to keep track

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