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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. current — of water
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fine — high quality
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. band — a music group
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. race — a contest
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — to drill

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