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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 · shower · toast · cabinet · cold · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. shower — to wash
  4. race — a contest
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — bread
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. club — for golf
  13. race — humankind
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cold — an illness

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