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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: straw · coach · shower · race · cold · pop · can · rule

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. can — a tin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. shower — rain
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. can — a tin
  14. race — the arms race
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. shower — to wash
  17. can — to be able to
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pop — to visit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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