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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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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: drill · pound · chair · net · bass · rule · board · fine

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — a law
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. net — for catching
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bass — low music
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chair — a leader
  16. net — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — after costs

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