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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: bat · snap · key · board · capital · bore · trunk · chest

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chest — of your body
  6. board — a committee
  7. capital — money
  8. board — to get on
  9. key — in music
  10. key — the most important part
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. capital — a city
  13. bore — to tire
  14. key — for a lock
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chest — of your body
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. chest — a box
  19. snap — to click
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. bat — for baseball

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