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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: pop · club · row · drill · bound · race · wound · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. club — a group
  4. pop — to visit
  5. race — a contest
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. club — for dancing
  8. row — to paddle
  9. race — humankind
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. drill — the tool
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bound — certain
  15. row — a line
  16. race — the arms race
  17. club — for golf
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bound — obliged

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