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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · court · cap · drill · bass · file

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — a box
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. cap — of ice
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of a king
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bass — low music
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bass — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — of law
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. drill — army training
  18. cap — a lid

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