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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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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: swing · row · cell · last · race · board

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — final
  3. race — humankind
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. race — the arms race
  7. swing — music
  8. row — a line
  9. swing — in golf
  10. row — to paddle
  11. board — a committee
  12. last — to go on
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. board — to get on
  18. last — finally

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