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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: stick · board · capital · land · rock · cold · shower · toast

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — music
  4. toast — bread
  5. land — a country
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. land — to come down
  14. shower — rain
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. board — to get on
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — ground
  24. board — a committee

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