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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: club · drill · pit · tube · scale · rest · board · fan

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. club — for golf
  5. drill — a practice
  6. club — for dancing
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. board — to get on
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — army training
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rest — a break
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. drill — the tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. board — a committee
  21. pit — in a race
  22. club — a group
  23. scale — in music
  24. fan — a supporter

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