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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: ruler · cold · bowl · shower · ball · race

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. race — humankind
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. shower — to wash
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. shower — rain
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — the Cold War

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