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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: row · board · spring · last · mine · mate · race · bay

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. row — a line
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. board — a committee
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mine — for digging
  11. board — to get on
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. race — a contest
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. race — the arms race
  19. mate — a friend
  20. race — humankind
  21. last — final
  22. spring — the season
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. spring — of water

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