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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — humankind
  5. cell — in biology
  6. present — there
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bore — to tire
  15. race — a contest
  16. present — a gift
  17. chest — of your body
  18. row — to paddle
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. row — a line
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chest — a box
  24. present — the time now

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