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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: wind · cell · board · fan · ground · bass · court · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the fish
  6. court — for sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cell — a phone
  13. board — a committee
  14. court — of law
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. court — of a king
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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