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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — a contest
  3. bore — to drill
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — for digging
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bulb — for light
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bore — to tire
  14. present — the time now
  15. race — humankind
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — money
  20. drill — a practice
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

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