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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. last — final
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. dip — to sink
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. squash — the sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — to drill
  13. last — finally
  14. race — the arms race
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bore — to tire
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — army training
  22. squash — to crush
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wax — in the ear

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