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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 116 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: cell · drill · bat · mate · swing · board · stock · pit

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. board — a committee
  2. drill — army training
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mate — a partner
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. drill — a practice
  11. board — to get on
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mate — to breed
  14. pit — in a race
  15. swing — to play on
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cell — in biology
  20. mate — a friend
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — the animal
  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