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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bore — to tire
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — rain
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. fall — the season
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. race — the arms race
  20. plane — a tool
  21. sharp — clever
  22. bore — to drill
  23. shower — to wash
  24. race — humankind

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