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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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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: content · game · chair · cell · bulb · rule · board · club

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. board — a committee
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chair — a leader
  8. board — to get on
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. content — happy
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — for golf
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rule — a law
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rule — government
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. club — a group
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — the amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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