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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: board · capital · drill · net · deal · present · trunk · chest

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. present — there
  3. drill — the tool
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. present — a gift
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. drill — army training
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. board — to get on
  12. net — in sport
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. capital — money
  15. deal — to handle
  16. chest — of your body
  17. net — for catching
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — a box
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chest — of your body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. capital — a city

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