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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. court — of a king
  3. board — a committee
  4. object — to protest
  5. court — for sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. object — an aim
  13. field — farmland
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. suit — in cards
  16. branch — a division
  17. suit — to fit
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. object — a thing
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. suit — clothes
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. row — a line

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