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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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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: bay · march · board · race · row · chest · cold · racket

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — the month
  4. board — to get on
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. march — music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. march — the month
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. row — a line
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. board — a committee
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. chest — a box

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