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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. board — a committee
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. last — finally
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. board — to get on
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — a practice
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bat — the animal
  14. last — to go on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. stock — goods
  17. plane — a tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — final
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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