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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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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: cell · board · shower · march · key · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. key — for a lock
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chair — a leader
  7. key — the most important part
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. key — in music
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cell — in biology
  15. board — a committee
  16. march — music
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — to wash

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