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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.

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: file · straw · mark · mine · row · roll · drill · hide

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. drill — army training
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. roll — a list
  5. mine — for digging
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. drill — the tool
  8. file — a tool
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. file — a document
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. file — a line of people
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. hide — animal skin

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