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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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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: cue · pound · board · spring · chest · bat

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. cue — a hint
  6. board — to get on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. chest — a box
  11. board — a committee
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cue — for pool
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. spring — the season
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bat — in an idiom

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