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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: club · fine · drill · stand · hand · land · plane · chest

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — to come down
  3. fine — all right
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — a country
  10. club — for dancing
  11. chest — a box
  12. land — ground
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. hand — in cards
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. plane — a tool
  24. fine — high quality

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