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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: board · stock · rule · bay · game · cap · ball · file

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stock — goods
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rule — government
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — a match
  14. file — a tool
  15. ball — a great time
  16. file — a document
  17. ball — a dance
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stock — a soup base

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