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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spring — the season
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bore — to drill
  5. shower — rain
  6. race — humankind
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. dip — to sink
  12. spring — of water
  13. lean — to bend
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. race — a contest
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bore — to tire
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — for sculpting

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