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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: board · cap · land · safe · wave · last · cold · band

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cold — not warm
  4. board — to get on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. board — a committee
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — an illness
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. band — a music group
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. land — a country
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. band — a ring
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. cap — of ice

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