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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.

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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 · rest · shower · mine · rush · board · cabinet · kid

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rest — a break
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. board — a committee
  9. kid — to tease
  10. race — humankind
  11. kid — child
  12. race — the arms race
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. race — a contest
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. shower — rain
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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