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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bore — to tire
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. race — humankind
  7. dip — to sink
  8. wound — an injury
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ground — a position
  14. saw — the tool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — a law
  17. bore — to drill
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rule — government
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wound — an injury

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