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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — happening now
  6. ball — a dance
  7. game — wild animals
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bore — to tire
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. ball — a great time
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. race — a contest
  15. game — a match
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cold — not warm
  19. current — electric
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. current — of water
  23. scale — in music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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