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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: lean · board · bass · ground · rash · bowl · row · cold

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. row — a line
  12. bass — low music
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. ground — crushed
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — to paddle
  23. board — a committee
  24. cold — an illness

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