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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: season · bear · land · row · board · file · game · cue

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — a match
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. board — a committee
  6. file — a tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cue — a hint
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cue — a signal
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — the animal
  15. row — a line
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. file — a document
  19. game — wild animals
  20. row — to paddle
  21. land — a country
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cue — for pool

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