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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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. bore — to drill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. land — ground
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mate — to breed
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — a country
  14. foot — a measure
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — help
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bore — to tire
  20. hand — in cards
  21. race — a contest
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  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