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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. race — humankind
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bore — to drill
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rock — music
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. tube — a container

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