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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 120 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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Word bank
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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 · land · cell · content · rock · safe

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. 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. rock — music
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. cell — in biology
  5. content — the amount
  6. board — to get on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rock — a stone
  18. 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