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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 116 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: mine · rash · wind · plane · race · club · bowl · squash

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. race — humankind
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — to crush
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. race — the arms race
  22. club — for dancing
  23. race — a contest
  24. club — for golf

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