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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · rest · shower · race · mouse · object

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — to protest
  4. race — a contest
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chest — a box
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — a thing
  12. race — humankind
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — rain
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left

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