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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: calf · spring · board · shower · tear · scale · race · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. tear — from crying
  3. shower — to wash
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — rain
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. race — a contest
  10. spring — the season
  11. board — to get on
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. scale — in music
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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