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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 · key · lie · root · shower · wound · cold · squash

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. race — a contest
  6. root — the cause
  7. lie — to recline
  8. wound — an injury
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. race — the arms race
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. key — the most important part
  15. squash — to crush
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. race — humankind
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — not warm
  23. key — in music
  24. key — for a lock

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