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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. deal — to handle
  6. race — a contest
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. race — humankind
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — a box
  24. deal — an agreement

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