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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · chest · board · kid · current · swing · shower · march

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. board — to get on
  3. current — happening now
  4. swing — in golf
  5. current — electric
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. board — a committee
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — a box
  10. game — a match
  11. shower — to wash
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — child
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. march — music
  19. current — of water
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — of your body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chest — of your body
  24. swing — 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