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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. race — a contest
  3. kid — child
  4. race — humankind
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cell — in biology
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cell — a phone
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mate — to breed
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cell — in a prison

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