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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mark — a trace
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — the arms race
  7. last — finally
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. current — electric
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — final
  12. spring — the season
  13. season — of the year
  14. squash — the sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. last — to go on
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. current — happening now
  23. mark — a grade
  24. current — 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