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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: board · wind · mouse · bowl · chest · key · cap · file

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cap — of ice
  4. key — for a lock
  5. board — to get on
  6. key — in music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wind — moving air
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. file — a line of people
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — a lid
  22. board — a committee
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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