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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: rule · stem · mine · kick · fan · pitcher · land · board

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — to get on
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. stem — to come from
  6. board — a committee
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. land — ground
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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