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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: shower · row · key · lash · race · spring · wound · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. race — humankind
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — a line
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spring — a coil
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — to wash
  9. spring — the season
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. key — in music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — for a lock
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. row — to paddle
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. race — a contest
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spring — of water

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