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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: shower · ball · kick · race · fork · rest · tube · object

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. object — to protest
  3. rest — a break
  4. race — humankind
  5. tube — a container
  6. object — a thing
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. fork — in a road
  10. ball — a great time
  11. kick — in football
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ball — a dance
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — the underground
  24. object — an aim

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