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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: degree · squash · wind · craft · lean · hand · fan · board

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hand — in cards
  3. board — to get on
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wind — moving air
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. squash — the sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — help
  16. lean — thin
  17. degree — temperature
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. board — a committee
  24. squash — to crush

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