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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: shower · rock · chest · kid · mug · scale · mark · race

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — a trace
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. race — a contest
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mug — a face
  12. shower — rain
  13. mug — a cup
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. scale — in music
  18. chest — a box
  19. race — humankind
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chest — of your body

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