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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. court — of law
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. race — a contest
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. press — a publisher
  12. spell — letters
  13. press — to push
  14. bound — obliged
  15. spell — a short time
  16. press — newspapers
  17. court — of a king
  18. spell — magic
  19. board — to get on
  20. bulb — for light
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — a country

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