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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: rest · race · shower · spring · tube · bay · drill · club

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. race — humankind
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. club — for golf
  7. drill — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rest — what's left
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — a container
  13. shower — to wash
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — a group
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — army training
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. club — for dancing

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