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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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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: cap · kid · mine · race · current · pop · swing · shower

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cap — of ice
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pop — soda
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mine — for digging
  8. current — happening now
  9. pop — to visit
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — child
  15. race — a contest
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. swing — music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. shower — rain
  20. pop — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — to tease

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