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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 · chair · shower · game · spring · lash · bound · track

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. shower — to wash
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. game — a match
  10. spring — the season
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — obliged
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chair — a leader
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. bound — certain
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. race — the arms race
  23. game — wild animals
  24. shower — rain

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