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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: march · pound · board · club · cell · wax

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. march — the month
  12. board — a committee
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. board — to get 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