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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. kid — child
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. board — a committee
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. board — to get on
  12. hand — help
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — to come down
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. row — to paddle
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. row — a line
  24. kid — to tease

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