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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: kid · board · drill · swing · squash · fine · date · fall

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. fall — to drop
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fine — all right
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kid — to tease
  9. drill — army training
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — child
  13. board — to get on
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — music
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. fine — high quality
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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