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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: deal · wake · cold · chip · prune · board · wound · rule

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. board — to get on
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — to handle
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rule — a law
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rule — government
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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