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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: race · last · bore · bowl · pitcher · board · hand · leaves

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. last — final
  4. bore — to drill
  5. hand — in cards
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. race — the arms race
  10. board — a committee
  11. race — humankind
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. board — to get on
  15. hand — help
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. race — a contest

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