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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: land · board · nail · rash · wind · band · fan · sharp

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. band — a music group
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. land — a country
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — ground
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. band — a ring
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — a series
  16. sharp — clever
  17. board — to get on
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — hasty
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — a committee
  23. wind — moving air
  24. band — a rubber band

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