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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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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: march · shower · race · lie · bear · band · saw · mouse

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. saw — the tool
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lie — to recline
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. race — a contest
  14. bear — the animal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. march — the month
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. band — a ring
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — music
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bear — to put up with

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