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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 120 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: lie · bank · chest · mark · wound · drill · content · coach

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. lie — to recline
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — happy
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — of your body
  10. content — the amount
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bank — of a river
  13. mark — a grade
  14. chest — a box
  15. drill — a practice
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bank — for money
  18. mark — a trace
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bank — for money
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. drill — army training

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