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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bore — to drill
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. row — a line
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bore — to tire
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bear — the animal
  16. race — the arms race
  17. row — to paddle
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. land — ground
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. land — a country
  24. game — wild animals

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