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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. race — a contest
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. squash — to crush
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — the sport
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — for digging
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — humankind
  17. bore — to drill
  18. mine — an explosive

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