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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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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: rest · bowl · rash · race · mark · spring · clip · last

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. mark — a trace
  3. rest — a break
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — the season
  6. rash — hasty
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. rash — a series
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. clip — a video
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. last — finally
  20. rest — what's left
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — a contest
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spring — a coil

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