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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 116 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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bore — to tire
  7. staff — employees
  8. spring — of water
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stock — shares
  12. staff — employees
  13. race — humankind
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stock — goods
  16. race — a contest
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. ball — a great time
  20. spring — the season
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — the arms race
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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