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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 · field · kid · rush · chip · row · mouse · fall

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. field — for sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — child
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — a subject
  15. fall — the season
  16. chip — for betting
  17. field — farmland
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. drill — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chip — in a computer

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