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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: race · fan · fork · bore · shower · staff · lean · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — thin
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. race — humankind
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. staff — employees
  11. bore — to tire
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — rain
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. race — a contest
  24. staff — a stick

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