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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. board — to get on
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — a committee
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. land — a country
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. content — happy
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. tube — the underground
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cold — an illness
  15. land — to come down
  16. tube — a container
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. land — ground
  20. rule — government
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. content — the amount
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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