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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 120 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: race · rash · wake · bat · saw · track · row · cabinet

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. race — humankind
  3. rash — hasty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. race — a contest
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. row — a line
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. track — a song
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rash — a series
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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