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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: chest · coach · drill · mine · pit · cell · plane · bark

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bark — to shout
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mine — for digging
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — a box
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. drill — army training
  24. bark — of a tree

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