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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — a box
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — humankind
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chest — of your body

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