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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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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: drill · trunk · bat · last · bear · wind · chair · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. drill — army training
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. last — final
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. club — for dancing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — the animal
  21. last — to go on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wind — to turn a key

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