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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: race · bat · board · ball · rash · cue · band · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. board — a committee
  3. band — a music group
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. shower — rain
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rash — a series
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. race — a contest
  16. band — a ring
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. race — humankind
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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