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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: shower · hand · pass · board · mine · foot

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pass — a permit
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. shower — rain
  12. board — to get on
  13. mine — for digging
  14. board — a committee
  15. foot — a measure
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. foot — the bottom

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