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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: board · capital · rest · drill · pit · stick · march · trunk

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rest — a break
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — money
  6. pit — a hole
  7. march — the month
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. march — music
  17. rest — what's left
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pit — in a race
  20. rest — what's left
  21. drill — army training
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. board — a committee

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