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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: saw · rest · land · drill · hand · bank · row · mug

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — help
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mug — a face
  5. bank — for money
  6. drill — army training
  7. bank — of a river
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bank — for money
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. land — ground
  12. mug — a cup
  13. rest — what's left
  14. row — to paddle
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. land — to come down
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rest — a break
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — a practice

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