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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. race — humankind
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kid — child
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — a line
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. roll — a cake
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. scale — size or range
  13. last — final
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. scale — in music
  17. bore — to tire
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kid — to tease
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. roll — a list
  24. row — a quarrel

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