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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 116 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 · branch · straw · pass · club · shower · drill · spring

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — rain
  7. club — for dancing
  8. drill — army training
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. race — humankind
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. spring — of water
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spring — the season
  19. club — for golf
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. club — a group
  22. race — a contest
  23. pass — a permit
  24. drill — a practice

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