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

Word bank: deal · kid · wind · board · net · fall

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. net — in sport
  5. board — to get on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. board — a committee
  9. deal — to handle
  10. net — for catching
  11. fall — the season
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wind — moving air
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wind — moving air

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