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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 · cell · rest · chip · season · cold · bank · pit

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rest — a break
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bank — for money
  6. chip — for betting
  7. board — a committee
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bank — for money
  12. rest — what's left
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. board — to get on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. season — of the year
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — in 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