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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 · drill · mark · chest · rock · net · bat · last

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a trace
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. net — in sport
  8. rock — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — for catching
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chest — a box
  16. board — to get on
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. last — finally
  19. rock — a stone
  20. net — after costs
  21. board — a committee
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. mark — a grade

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