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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 · shower · stem · bay · chair · date · straw · game

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. game — wild animals
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. race — humankind
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. date — the fruit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — a contest
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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