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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: board · staff · bear · cold · pound · rule · wind · season

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — to get on
  4. rule — government
  5. board — a committee
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. staff — employees
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. cold — an illness
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. rule — a law
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. season — in sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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