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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: club · rule · face · board · cold · stick

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. rule — government
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — a law
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — not warm
  13. board — to get on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — for dancing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. club — a group

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