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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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Word bank
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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bore — to drill
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — not warm
  15. dip — to sink
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. file — a document
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a tool
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. bat — in an idiom

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