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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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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 · mouse · shower · perch · rash · chest · nail · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. race — a contest
  4. perch — the fish
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rash — a series
  12. chest — of your body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. present — a gift
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. present — the time now
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. chest — a box
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chest — of your body

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