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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: chest · rule · drill · ruler · pit · pitcher

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. drill — the tool
  4. rule — a law
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rule — government
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — army training
  16. chest — a box
  17. drill — a practice
  18. ruler — for measuring

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