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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: fan · chair · fine · rush · board · ground · shower · straw

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. board — a committee
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. shower — rain
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fine — all right
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. ground — crushed
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — to wash

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