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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: rule · chest · board · pitcher · fan · last · cap · bat

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. last — final
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cap — of ice
  6. last — to go on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. board — a committee
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rule — government
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cap — a lid
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rule — a law
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. last — finally
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — the animal

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