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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: wind · rash · nail · stem · board · game · ground · hand

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wind — moving air
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. hand — in cards
  17. ground — a position
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. board — a committee
  20. hand — help
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rash — a series
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rash — hasty

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