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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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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: bat · shower · rush · race · rock · arm · object · wound

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rock — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rock — a stone
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. race — a contest
  17. object — a thing
  18. rush — hurry
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. object — to protest
  22. shower — rain
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rock — to move gently

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