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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: march · kid · safe · pop · rest · board · land · saw

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. pop — music
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. march — music
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. pop — to visit
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — to tease
  19. board — to get on
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. kid — child
  23. rest — a break
  24. pop — soda

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