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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: wake · stock · snap · rule · capital · board · shower · wind

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. rule — a law
  4. board — a committee
  5. capital — money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rule — government
  8. shower — to wash
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. board — to get on
  12. wake — a trail
  13. capital — a city
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. shower — rain
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stock — goods
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stock — shares

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