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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
468
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: cold · lash · wind · board · rush · march · net · season

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — music
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — in sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. board — a committee
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. board — to get on
  14. season — in sport
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — after costs
  19. march — the month
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. net — for catching
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cold — the Cold War

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