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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: bound · mug · shower · row · straw · kick · sharp · race

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. race — humankind
  10. bound — tied together
  11. shower — rain
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. kick — in football
  14. bound — obliged
  15. mug — to rob
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. row — to paddle
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. sharp — clever
  23. row — a line
  24. bound — certain

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