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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 116 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: suit · kid · degree · sharp · wind · shower · club · board

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — to get on
  6. club — for dancing
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. club — for golf
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. suit — to fit
  13. kid — to tease
  14. suit — clothes
  15. shower — to wash
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. club — a group
  22. degree — temperature
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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