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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: racket · game · kid · shower · stem · content · race · face

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. shower — rain
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — child
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — to point toward
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stem — to come from
  18. face — part of the head
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. shower — to wash
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. face — to confront

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