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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 · kid · wax · hand · ground · can · rush · row

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. board — to get on
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — child
  9. row — to paddle
  10. can — to be able to
  11. kid — to tease
  12. can — a tin
  13. ground — a position
  14. wax — to grow
  15. board — a committee
  16. can — a tin
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. row — a line
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. row — a quarrel

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