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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. snap — to click
  4. bore — to drill
  5. shower — rain
  6. pound — a weight
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. court — for sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — of a king
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chair — a leader
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. race — humankind

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