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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · land · straw · pass · bore · shower · pitcher · bark

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. shower — rain
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to tire
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bark — to shout
  14. land — to come down
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. race — the arms race
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bore — to drill
  24. land — a country

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