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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a committee
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. row — to paddle
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. craft — a skill
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. land — a country
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — a line
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. race — the arms race
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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