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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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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: tear · board · spring · present · net · squash · race · capital

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — for catching
  4. squash — to crush
  5. net — in sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. present — a gift
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — the sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. net — after costs
  14. capital — money
  15. spring — a coil
  16. present — the time now
  17. board — to get on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. present — there
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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