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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: chest · board · last · spring · bark · tear · drill · pit

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — to get on
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pit — a hole
  10. drill — army training
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — from crying
  17. last — to go on
  18. tear — to rip
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — finally
  21. drill — the tool
  22. board — a committee
  23. pit — in a race
  24. last — final

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