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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — to get on
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fine — high quality
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cold — an illness
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. shower — rain
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — all right
  21. drill — army training
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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