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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: rule · board · stem · firm · cold · club

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stem — to come from
  3. firm — steady
  4. club — a group
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — government
  9. board — a committee
  10. firm — decided
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. firm — a company
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. club — for golf
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. club — for dancing

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