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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 · club · bat · date · mark · bank · chest · cap

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cap — of ice
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chest — a box
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bank — for money
  9. drill — army training
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — the animal
  12. date — the fruit
  13. bank — for money
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. club — for dancing
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bank — of a river
  21. mark — a trace
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for golf
  24. drill — a practice

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