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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: drill · chest · field · can · mouse · squash · coach · row

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. drill — the tool
  4. can — to be able to
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. can — a tin
  9. chest — a box
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — to paddle
  15. can — a tin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — farmland
  18. chest — of your body
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. row — a line

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