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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: land · wind · club · board · lie · spring · cue · stem

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. board — a committee
  3. land — a country
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. club — for golf
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — to come down
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lie — to recline
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. club — a group
  22. board — to get on
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — of a plant

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