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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. board — to get on
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mate — a partner
  6. row — a line
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. court — of law
  9. board — a committee
  10. mate — to breed
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mate — a friend
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. row — to paddle
  15. land — ground
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. court — of a king
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — for sport
  20. last — finally
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. wind — moving air

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