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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 · rule · board · rash · chair · scale · club · wind

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. scale — in music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. board — a committee
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — hasty
  7. club — for golf
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — a series
  13. board — to get on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rule — government
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a leader
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — a group
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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