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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: season · bear · land · row · board · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. season — of the year
  3. land — a country
  4. season — in sport
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bear — the animal
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a line of people
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bear — the animal
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. row — a line
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. land — ground
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. file — a document

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