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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 120 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: shower · key · land · cap · rock · can · spell · race

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cap — a lid
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. can — a tin
  6. rock — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — the arms race
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. can — a tin
  14. land — a country
  15. spell — a short time
  16. land — ground
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spell — letters
  19. shower — rain
  20. cap — a hat
  21. shower — to wash
  22. key — the most important part
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cap — of ice

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