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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: cell · ruler · board · march · pitcher · rock · kid · spring

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spring — a coil
  16. board — a committee
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rock — music
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — child
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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