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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. drill — army training
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rule — a law
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. drill — the tool
  8. race — a contest
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. capital — money
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rule — government
  13. race — humankind
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — a practice
  23. race — the arms race
  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