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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: court · race · fan · wind · mark · row · rash · stem

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. row — a line
  5. race — humankind
  6. row — to paddle
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. court — for sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mark — a grade
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — hasty
  16. race — the arms race
  17. court — of law
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. court — of a king
  22. rash — a series
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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