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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: race · stand · plane · spring · wind · bear · lash · shower

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. plane — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. spring — the season
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — rain
  10. bear — the animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. race — the arms race
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — humankind
  24. lash — to lash out

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