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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 120 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
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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: land · rash · sharp · tube · plane · shower · race · mouse

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. shower — to wash
  3. plane — a tool
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tube — the underground
  8. race — humankind
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rash — hasty
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. land — a country
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rash — a series
  17. land — ground
  18. tube — a container
  19. shower — rain
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. race — the arms race

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