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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 116 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 · rule · fan · fall · band · land · coach · cold

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a ring
  8. board — a committee
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rule — government
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — the season
  18. board — to get on
  19. rule — a law
  20. land — to come down
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a music group

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