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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
468
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: coach · bowl · spring · nail · chip · race · march · row

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. race — a contest
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. race — humankind
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. march — music
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. march — the month
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — of water
  17. chip — to eat
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chip — for betting
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — the arms race
  24. row — a line

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