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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. race — a contest
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — humankind
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rash — a series
  8. hand — help
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to tire
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bore — to drill
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. date — the fruit
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. kid — to tease
  24. race — the arms race

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