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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 · hand · pass · board · mine · foot · clip · fall

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. clip — for paper
  3. shower — rain
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mine — for digging
  8. board — to get on
  9. foot — a measure
  10. shower — to wash
  11. clip — a video
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. fall — to drop
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — a committee
  23. pass — a permit
  24. fall — the season

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