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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: court · board · dip · fall · march · rule · band · ground

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a ring
  4. ground — the earth
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rule — government
  13. fall — the season
  14. march — music
  15. rule — a law
  16. fall — to drop
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. dip — to sink
  19. court — of law
  20. ground — crushed
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — a position
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — to dunk

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