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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: tear · board · deal · last · row · race · wind · bat

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — finally
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — to rip
  5. row — to paddle
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. last — final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — humankind
  15. board — to get on
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. race — a contest
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. row — a line

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