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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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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 · cap · mark · hand · board · stick · spring · drill

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. spring — the season
  3. mark — a trace
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — army training
  6. hand — in cards
  7. board — a committee
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. drill — the tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cap — of ice
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spring — of water
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. hand — help

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