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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: cell · leaves · court · content · race · board · band · fine

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. court — for sport
  3. fine — all right
  4. band — a ring
  5. board — to get on
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — of law
  8. race — humankind
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cell — in biology
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. content — happy
  13. court — of a king
  14. fine — high quality
  15. board — a committee
  16. band — a music group
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. content — the amount
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cell — a phone
  21. race — a contest
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fine — a penalty

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