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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. shower — rain
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — in cards
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bore — to tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — the arms race
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — help
  20. chest — a box
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bore — to drill

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