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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: race · chest · fall · suit · wound · plane · perch · shower

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. suit — to fit
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. chest — a box
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. shower — rain
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — clothes
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chest — of your body
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. plane — a tool

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