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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: race · rush · bound · land · board · net · kick · staff

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. rush — hurry
  3. staff — employees
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. race — a contest
  6. net — for catching
  7. race — humankind
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. land — a country
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — the arms race
  13. net — after costs
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. land — ground
  17. staff — a stick
  18. kick — in football
  19. net — in sport
  20. bound — tied together
  21. board — a committee
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — to come down
  24. bound — certain

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