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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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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: board · stand · wind · rock · row · swing · cell · capital

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. board — to get on
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — a city
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. swing — in golf
  20. board — a committee
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. swing — music
  24. row — to paddle

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