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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rock — a stone
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. rock — music
  6. kick — in football
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — rain
  11. file — a document
  12. cap — of ice
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. game — a match
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. file — a tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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