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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 · safe · cap · wound · roll · shower · season · straw

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. roll — a cake
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cap — of ice
  6. shower — rain
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. roll — a list
  9. cap — a lid
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. season — of the year
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. safe — out of danger

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