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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bound — obliged
  6. race — a contest
  7. game — wild animals
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bound — tied together
  12. stock — shares
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stock — goods
  15. race — humankind
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. game — a match
  20. cell — in biology
  21. race — the arms race
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bound — certain
  24. roll — a list

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