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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: wave · shower · race · content · cold · foot · key · row

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. content — the amount
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cold — an illness
  10. row — a line
  11. cold — not warm
  12. key — for a lock
  13. row — to paddle
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. race — a contest
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. content — happy
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — in music

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