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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 116 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: bound · race · game · mouse · shower · track · ground · straw

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. track — a path
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. track — a song
  5. shower — rain
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. ground — crushed
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — the arms race
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bound — certain
  18. ground — the earth
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. game — a match
  24. track — to keep track

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