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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: shower · key · racket · track · snap · race · straw · pop

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. race — humankind
  3. key — the most important part
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — a path
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — music
  9. track — a song
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. shower — rain
  13. pop — soda
  14. snap — to click
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. race — the arms race
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. track — to keep track

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