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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — a committee
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a music group
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. track — to keep track
  14. band — a ring
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — ground
  17. board — to get on
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — of your body
  20. date — the fruit
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. track — a song
  24. chest — a box

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