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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · shower · can · race · coach · ruler · face · cold

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bass — low music
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. face — to point toward
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. shower — rain
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bass — the fish
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. face — to confront
  24. shower — to wash

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