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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 120 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: arm · mouse · content · rest · shower · race · bat · rush

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. race — humankind
  3. content — happy
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. race — a contest
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. content — the amount
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — the arms race
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. arm — part of the body

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