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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: race · cold · deal · last · game · coach · safe · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. last — final
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — finally
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cold — not warm
  11. deal — to handle
  12. game — a match
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. last — to go on
  16. race — the arms race
  17. shower — to wash
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. shower — rain
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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