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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · rock · race · cell · wave · kid

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. race — the arms race
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. race — humankind
  12. rock — a stone
  13. bore — to tire
  14. rock — music
  15. race — a contest
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. cell — in a prison

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