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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: shower · row · spring · board · ruler · mate · swing · cold

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. swing — in golf
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. row — a line
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. board — a committee
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — not warm
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. shower — rain
  19. swing — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. mate — a partner
  24. shower — to wash

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