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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: bass · race · sharp · object · shower · land · spring · bat

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bass — the fish
  4. shower — to wash
  5. race — the arms race
  6. object — a thing
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — of water
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — ground
  12. shower — rain
  13. bat — the animal
  14. spring — a coil
  15. object — to protest
  16. race — a contest
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. race — humankind
  21. object — an aim
  22. land — to come down
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. sharp — clever

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