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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 120 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: game · race · chair · key · pound · mate · row · shower

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mate — a partner
  5. key — for a lock
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. race — a contest
  8. pound — a weight
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. shower — rain
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. key — in music
  16. shower — to wash
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mate — a friend
  19. game — a match
  20. chair — a leader
  21. row — a line
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mate — to breed
  24. key — the most important part

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