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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. race — a contest
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chest — a box
  8. face — to confront
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. race — humankind
  23. bore — to drill
  24. date — on the calendar

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