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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. tube — a container
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. land — to come down
  8. rest — a break
  9. cell — a phone
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. board — a committee
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tube — the underground
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. bound — tied together

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