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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: pit · shower · cell · rash · race · roll · game · nail

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. game — a match
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. race — the arms race
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pit — in a race
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rash — a series
  12. race — a contest
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. roll — a cake
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — wild animals
  20. roll — a list
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — rain
  23. pit — a hole
  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