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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 116 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: lean · chip · mine · board · last · court · drill · march

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. court — for sport
  3. lean — to bend
  4. last — final
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — finally
  7. lean — thin
  8. board — a committee
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. march — music
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. last — to go on
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — army training
  20. chip — for betting
  21. mine — for digging
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. court — of law
  24. board — to get on

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