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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: wound · board · cell · mate · pop · tear · fine · land

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pop — soda
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — all right
  8. land — a country
  9. board — to get on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pop — to visit
  20. board — a committee
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cell — in biology
  23. land — to come down
  24. board — a flat piece

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