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

Word bank: present · drill · bark · cue · chair · chest

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cue — a signal
  3. chest — a box
  4. present — the time now
  5. drill — army training
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. present — there
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cue — for pool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cue — a hint
  17. chest — of your body
  18. drill — the tool

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