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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. 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. race — a contest
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chest — a box
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — humankind
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bore — to drill
  18. 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