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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. cue — a signal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pop — music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. shower — to wash
  12. race — humankind
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cue — for pool
  17. race — a contest
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. pop — soda

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