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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hide · race · game · land · nail · club · row · ball

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — for dancing
  4. row — a line
  5. row — to paddle
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. ball — a great time
  19. race — the arms race
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. land — a country
  24. game — wild animals

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