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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: racket · board · toast · kid · saw · race · shower · pound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. race — a contest
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. saw — the tool
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. shower — to wash
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. race — the arms race
  21. kid — child
  22. race — humankind
  23. pound — a weight
  24. racket — for tennis

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