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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: shower · present · ground · ball · game · staff · race · pit

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. ground — a position
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ground — crushed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. race — humankind
  7. present — there
  8. ground — the earth
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. ball — a great time
  15. present — the time now
  16. staff — a stick
  17. present — a gift
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pit — in a race
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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