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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: stem · race · mouse · pitcher · cold · fan · shower · key

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — to wash
  7. key — in music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. race — a contest
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — to come from
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. race — the arms race
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. key — for a lock

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