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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
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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: clip · trunk · chest · mine · row · rule · coach · drill

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. row — to paddle
  3. drill — army training
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. rule — government
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rule — a law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — to cut
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — a box
  18. drill — a practice
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mine — for digging
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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