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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 120 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: race · net · swing · spell · board · kid · pound · bore

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bore — to tire
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. spell — letters
  6. kid — to tease
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bore — to drill
  10. net — in sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kid — child
  13. board — a committee
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. swing — music
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spell — magic
  19. net — for catching
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. race — humankind
  23. net — after costs
  24. pound — for dogs

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