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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 · wind · wake · shower · bore · squash · pitcher · date

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — rain
  6. wake — a trail
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bore — to tire
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. board — to get on
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. board — a committee
  24. date — on the calendar

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