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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. race — a contest
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. squash — to crush
  6. race — humankind
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wound — an injury
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. swing — music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bore — to drill
  21. spell — magic
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. race — the arms race

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