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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: chest · club · bat · season · wave · board · wind · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a committee
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. season — of the year
  6. shower — to wash
  7. club — for dancing
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. club — for golf
  10. chest — a box
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. board — to get on
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. season — in sport
  19. wind — moving air
  20. shower — rain
  21. club — a group
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chest — of your body

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