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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: leaves · pop · land · shower · racket · fan · race · sharp

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. race — a contest
  3. shower — to wash
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — ground
  9. shower — rain
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. pop — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. race — humankind
  15. land — a country
  16. pop — soda
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. land — to come down
  19. pop — to visit
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. sharp — clever
  23. race — the arms race
  24. sharp — exactly

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