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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · wind · mate · perch · plane · board · hand · game

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. game — a match
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — help
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spring — of water
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spring — the season
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. mate — to breed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mate — a friend
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hand — in cards
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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