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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: wake · board · lie · kid · shower · roll · fan · season

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — to recline
  5. roll — a cake
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. board — to get on
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. board — a committee
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  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