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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: shower · hide · straw · staff · degree · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. degree — an amount
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — rain
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. staff — a stick
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — from a university
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. race — humankind

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