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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: ball · board · spell · shower · season · race · bore · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bore — to tire
  3. shower — to wash
  4. board — to get on
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. race — a contest
  12. spell — letters
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. shower — rain
  18. board — a committee
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — magic
  21. season — of the year
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. season — in sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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