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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: clip · rush · bore · row · game · saw · race · spring

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. row — a line
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. clip — for paper
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. clip — to cut
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — to paddle
  14. game — a match
  15. spring — of water
  16. clip — a video
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rush — hurry
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. spring — the season
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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