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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 120 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: land · stick · race · board · bat · ground · cue · hide

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. board — to get on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — a contest
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — crushed
  17. board — a committee
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. land — a country
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. land — to come down
  23. race — humankind
  24. land — ground

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