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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: staff · shower · last · ground · race · straw · pop · saw

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. race — a contest
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — humankind
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pop — to visit
  12. staff — employees
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. staff — employees
  19. ground — the earth
  20. shower — to wash
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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