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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 120 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: scale · wind · last · kid · stem · board · patient · shower

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. shower — rain
  11. last — final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — child
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — in music
  24. board — a flat piece

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