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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: race · racket · drill · shower · straw · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. drill — a practice
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — the tool
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. race — humankind
  11. drill — army training
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — the arms race
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — rain

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