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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: shower · kid · lash · board · ruler · court · wake · field

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. court — for sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. field — for sport
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. court — of law
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. shower — to wash
  20. field — a subject
  21. court — of a king
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. board — a committee
  24. lash — to lash out

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