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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bore — to drill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. last — finally
  5. content — the amount
  6. last — to go on
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. field — farmland
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. race — a contest
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — final
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. content — happy
  24. field — for sport

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