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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: land · game · spring · board · chair · can · patient · race

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spring — the season
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. can — a tin
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. game — wild animals
  8. race — a contest
  9. board — to get on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chair — a leader
  12. board — a committee
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. race — humankind
  17. can — a tin
  18. land — ground
  19. race — the arms race
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. spring — of water
  24. can — to be able to

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