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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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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: row · saw · board · branch · chair · drill · race · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chair — a leader
  8. race — the arms race
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. drill — a practice
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. board — to get on
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — the tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. row — a line
  18. branch — a division
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. board — a committee
  24. drill — the tool

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