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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rule — government
  4. race — a contest
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bound — tied together
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mark — a grade
  12. snap — to click
  13. mark — a trace
  14. rule — a law
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bound — obliged
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bound — certain
  24. bore — to tire

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