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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — finally
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bear — the animal
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. race — humankind
  10. shower — rain
  11. land — to come down
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. bear — the animal
  15. last — final
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bore — to tire
  18. race — a contest
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. face — to confront
  22. land — a country
  23. face — part of the head
  24. land — ground

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