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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: chip · wake · mate · pitcher · scale · coach · land · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mate — to breed
  7. land — a country
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. drill — army training
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. scale — size or range
  15. drill — a practice
  16. land — to come down
  17. scale — in music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chip — for betting
  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