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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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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: sharp · chest · rule · board · stem · row · pop · wound

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. board — to get on
  5. pop — music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rule — a law
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. rule — government
  24. sharp — clever

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