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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: lie · spring · hand · stem · wave · board · rush · cold

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. spring — the season
  9. board — to get on
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. spring — of water
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. rush — hurry
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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