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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 · row · land · mouse · swing · pit · drill · mine

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. drill — army training
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — a country
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chest — a box
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. row — a line
  16. drill — a practice
  17. swing — to play on
  18. mine — for digging
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — a quarrel

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