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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: race · hide · land · cue · cabinet · board · band · cold

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — to get on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. band — a ring
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. race — a contest
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. land — to come down
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. board — a committee
  20. cue — a signal
  21. land — ground
  22. band — a music group
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cue — for pool

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