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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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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 · roll · shower · mouse · nail · wound · squash · chest

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wound — an injury
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wound — an injury
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. race — humankind
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. race — a contest
  24. roll — a cake

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