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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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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. spring — of water
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. capital — money
  5. row — to paddle
  6. face — to point toward
  7. board — a committee
  8. club — a group
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spring — the season
  11. board — to get on
  12. rule — government
  13. club — for golf
  14. face — to confront
  15. club — for dancing
  16. spring — a coil
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. row — a line
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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