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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rash — a series
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. race — a contest
  9. sharp — clever
  10. root — of a plant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — humankind
  17. root — of a word
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — hasty
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. shower — rain

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