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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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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: board · arm · rash · shower · court · plane · land · fall

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. court — for sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. board — a committee
  5. land — a country
  6. plane — a tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. land — ground
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. board — to get on
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. court — of law
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — to come down
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — a series
  24. fall — the season

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