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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: board · pound · cell · swing · leaves · file

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. board — a committee
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. file — a document
  9. swing — in golf
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. swing — music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. file — a tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. swing — to play on

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