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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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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: cap · bark · bore · board · cold · chair · rule · branch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cap — a hat
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rule — a law
  5. cap — of ice
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. board — to get on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cap — a lid
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bore — to drill
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bark — to shout
  21. board — a committee
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bore — gave birth

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