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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 120 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: hand · board · tube · bay · ground · cue · court · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. board — a committee
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cue — a signal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. court — of a king
  8. tube — a container
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. court — for sport
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — to get on
  15. court — of law
  16. cue — a hint
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. ground — a position
  21. hand — help
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cue — for pool
  24. hand — part of the body

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