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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: lash · track · row · spring · cold · board · race · present

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — not warm
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. present — a gift
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. track — a song
  7. board — to get on
  8. race — humankind
  9. board — a committee
  10. race — the arms race
  11. present — the time now
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — to keep track
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. present — there
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — of water
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spring — the season
  22. race — a contest
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a path

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