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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.

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: saw · lie · hand · coach · track · cell · bowl · drill

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lie — to recline
  6. track — a path
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. track — to keep track
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. saw — the tool
  23. track — a song
  24. coach — a trainer

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