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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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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: bore · degree · club · shower · ground · race · fan · fall

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bore — to tire
  7. ground — a position
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — rain
  10. bore — to drill
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ground — the earth
  14. race — the arms race
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. club — for golf
  20. ground — crushed
  21. club — for dancing
  22. degree — an amount
  23. race — humankind
  24. club — a group

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