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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: rest · snap · mine · last · can · jam · race · shower

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. mine — for digging
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. can — to be able to
  6. rest — a break
  7. last — to go on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. race — humankind
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. can — a tin
  13. race — the arms race
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. race — a contest
  16. shower — to wash
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. last — final
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to click
  24. can — a tin

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