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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: cold · bass · shower · drill · race · mouse · kick · cap

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — the fish
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cap — of ice
  6. shower — rain
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cap — a hat
  12. drill — a practice
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — humankind
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. drill — army training
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bass — low music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — an illness

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