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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 120 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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. band — a music group
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. race — a contest
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. race — humankind
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. band — a ring
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cell — a phone
  24. dip — to sink

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