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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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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: drill · chair · board · bat · fall · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. board — a committee
  6. fall — the season
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. drill — army training
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. board — to get on

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