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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · hide · pitcher · spring · bass · race · board · wound

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bass — the fish
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. board — to get on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — humankind
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — to rip
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bass — low music

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