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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. rule — government
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. land — to come down
  7. pop — soda
  8. craft — boats
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pop — music
  11. board — a committee
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pop — to visit
  14. board — to get on
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cell — a phone
  18. land — a country
  19. craft — a skill
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. rule — a law

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