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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: board · staff · bear · cold · pound · rule

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — a law
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — employees
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rule — government
  18. bear — the animal

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