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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 120 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 · bat · plane · file · pit · last · present · nail

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. board — a committee
  6. last — final
  7. board — to get on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. last — to go on
  11. present — a gift
  12. pit — a hole
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. last — finally
  16. pit — in a race
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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