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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 116 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: mine · bay · wind · board · court · cap · bark · race

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. court — of law
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bark — to shout
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — a committee
  12. court — of a king
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — a contest
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. race — humankind
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — for digging

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