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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: chair · racket · drill · wind · shower · board · branch · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. rash — hasty
  4. board — a committee
  5. wind — moving air
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — army training
  10. shower — to wash
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. drill — a practice
  13. shower — rain
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. board — to get on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. drill — the tool

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