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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: bat · pit · board · snap · drill · content · cap · spell

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cap — of ice
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. spell — letters
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. drill — the tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — the amount
  21. cap — a hat
  22. board — to get on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — happy

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