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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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. snap — to click
  3. field — farmland
  4. rule — government
  5. bore — to tire
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — a contest
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — the sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. track — a path
  12. race — humankind
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rule — a law
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — a song
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. field — a subject
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bore — to drill
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. squash — to crush

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