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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · kid · drill · mine · pop · hide · bowl

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pop — music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. drill — the tool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. pop — to visit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pop — soda
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. track — a path
  21. mine — for digging
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bowl — to roll

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