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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 116 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: fan · spring · wave · bass · land · deal · pound · board

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. land — to come down
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. board — to get on
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — a committee
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spring — a coil
  11. deal — to handle
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — the season
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — a weight
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bass — low music
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. spring — of water
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. deal — an agreement

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