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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: rest · shower · kid · race · current · cold · craft · bowl

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — a contest
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. shower — to wash
  11. current — of water
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. race — humankind
  14. rest — a break
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — rain
  20. kid — child
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. current — happening now
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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