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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 120 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: fan · chest · bore · mine · board · march · stock · kick

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. stock — shares
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — for digging
  14. march — the month
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — a box
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. board — a committee
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mine — belonging to me

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