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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: march · board · race · lash · patient · hide · shower · last

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — rain
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. board — to get on
  7. last — to go on
  8. race — humankind
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. last — final
  15. board — a committee
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. race — a contest
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. last — finally
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. shower — to wash
  23. march — the month
  24. race — the arms race

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