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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: shower · wind · racket · rash · tube · present · prune · race

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. race — the arms race
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. rash — a series
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. present — there
  14. tube — a container
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — the underground
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — hasty
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — to wash
  22. race — humankind
  23. wind — moving air
  24. racket — for tennis

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