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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: shower · pop · bowl · board · wound · cold · jam · dip

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. shower — rain
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. board — a committee
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pop — soda
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pop — music

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