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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cell · clip · land · board · ground · stock · charge · march

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cell — in biology
  3. board — a committee
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. march — music
  8. ground — a position
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — goods
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — shares
  14. charge — in control
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. charge — electricity
  18. land — ground
  19. march — the month
  20. ground — crushed
  21. board — to get on
  22. charge — a price
  23. ground — the earth
  24. clip — to cut

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