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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. race — humankind
  8. snap — to click
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — a country
  12. race — a contest
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cold — an illness
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. date — the fruit
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cold — not warm
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. suit — in cards
  24. date — on the calendar

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