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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 120 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: hand · board · shower · land · cabinet · wound · key · club

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. club — for dancing
  5. board — to get on
  6. hand — help
  7. board — a committee
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. land — ground
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hand — in cards
  16. club — for golf
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. key — for a lock
  20. land — a country
  21. key — in music
  22. club — a group
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. land — to come down

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