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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. pitch — completely
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bore — to tire
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bore — to drill
  15. ball — a dance
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — tied together
  19. race — humankind
  20. ball — a great time
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. ground — a position

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