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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: mate · race · straw · kid · stem · roll · pit · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. race — humankind
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. shower — rain
  11. mate — a partner
  12. kid — child
  13. pit — a hole
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stem — to come from
  16. roll — a list
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. roll — a cake
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pit — in a 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