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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: chest · board · craft · last · jam · land · game · cue

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. chest — a box
  3. cue — a hint
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — a match
  7. board — a committee
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. land — ground
  12. last — final
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cue — for pool
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. last — to go on
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. land — a country
  22. cue — a signal
  23. last — finally
  24. game — a kind of play

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