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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: cap · mate · shower · race · hide · mouse · last · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cap — a hat
  7. race — the arms race
  8. last — finally
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. race — humankind
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — to go on
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — a contest
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. hide — to keep secret

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