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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · dip · bore · chair · race · field · rash · clip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — a video
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. clip — for paper
  11. shower — rain
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bore — to tire
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. field — for sport
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rash — hasty

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