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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: board · clip · ball · shower · land · fan · rush · hide

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — for paper
  4. board — to get on
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. land — to come down
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. board — a committee
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. land — ground
  20. clip — a video
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. clip — to cut
  24. land — a country

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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