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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. drill — army training
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pop — to visit
  10. board — to get on
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — soda
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. board — a committee
  23. pop — music
  24. drill — a practice

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