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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: lie · current · drill · degree · coach · chest · mine · deal

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. lie — to recline
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. current — happening now
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. current — of water
  13. drill — a practice
  14. current — electric
  15. deal — to handle
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. drill — the tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. drill — army training

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