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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chip — for betting
  3. rule — government
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. board — a committee
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rule — a law
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. land — a country
  24. chip — to eat

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