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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — a series
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. key — for a lock
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. key — the most important part
  13. race — a contest
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. key — in music
  16. race — humankind
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kid — child
  19. race — the arms race
  20. game — wild animals
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cell — a phone
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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