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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: land · board · pop · rule · cell · shower · object · club

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. object — to protest
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rule — government
  7. land — a country
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. board — to get on
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. board — a committee
  14. land — to come down
  15. object — a thing
  16. shower — rain
  17. land — ground
  18. shower — to wash
  19. object — an aim
  20. rule — a law
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — music
  23. club — for golf
  24. pop — soda

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