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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: jam · band · bear · land · wound · mate · rule · board

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. board — a committee
  3. band — a music group
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. land — to come down
  9. bear — the animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rule — government
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. land — a country
  17. mate — a partner
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — a law
  22. board — to get on
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bear — the animal

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