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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. squash — the sport
  15. board — to get on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wake — before a funeral

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