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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: club · wind · racket · bay · kid · board · mine · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. kid — to tease
  3. board — to get on
  4. board — a committee
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. club — a group
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — rain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. club — for golf
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. club — for dancing

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