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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: band · bore · pitcher · kid · race · root · shower · game

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bore — to drill
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. band — a ring
  7. game — wild animals
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — child
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — a match
  23. bore — to tire
  24. shower — to wash

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