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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: coach · race · tube · cue · tear · shower · bear · arm

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. race — humankind
  4. tear — from crying
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. tube — a container
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. tube — the underground
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cue — a hint
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. race — the arms race

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