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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 116 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: cap · chip · cold · field · scale · board · rule · plane

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cap — a lid
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. rule — government
  5. field — farmland
  6. chip — for betting
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — of ice
  12. plane — a tool
  13. rule — a law
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — a subject
  19. scale — in music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. board — a committee
  24. field — for sport

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