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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: row · swing · mate · band · land · drill · sharp · stand

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. row — to paddle
  4. band — a ring
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a line
  7. stand — to bear
  8. sharp — clever
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. swing — music
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. land — to come down
  14. mate — a partner
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mate — to breed
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a music group
  20. mate — a friend
  21. swing — in golf
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. drill — a practice
  24. band — a rubber band

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