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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: drill · kid · toast · row · bowl · race

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. race — a contest
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — the arms race
  6. drill — the tool
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. drill — army training
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. row — to paddle
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — humankind
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. kid — child
  18. toast — bread

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