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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. shower — to wash
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. net — after costs
  5. roll — a cake
  6. board — a committee
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. board — to get on
  13. shower — rain
  14. roll — a list
  15. band — a music group
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. net — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. rush — hurry
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. tube — the underground
  24. band — a ring

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