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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: wound · board · rash · game · wind · ground · staff · tear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — a position
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — a match
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. board — a committee
  8. staff — employees
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — a series
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — crushed
  13. game — wild animals
  14. board — to get on
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ground — the earth
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rash — hasty
  23. staff — employees
  24. board — a flat piece

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