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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: fan · mark · march · date · chest · board · file · bore

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. march — music
  7. bore — to tire
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — a box
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. march — the month
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mark — a grade
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. file — a tool
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. date — the fruit
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. chest — of your body

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