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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — child
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a ring
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bore — to drill
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kid — to tease
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. race — the arms race
  23. club — for golf
  24. nail — for a hammer

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