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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: kid · mouse · stem · last · coach · rest · shower · race

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — finally
  7. shower — rain
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. kid — child
  11. last — final
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. kid — to tease
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rest — a break
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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