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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: race · arm · shower · mark · rush · rest · net · content

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. shower — to wash
  4. mark — a grade
  5. race — a contest
  6. mark — a trace
  7. rest — what's left
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rush — hurry
  10. race — the arms race
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — happy
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rest — a break
  20. content — the amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. arm — part of the 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