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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: stock · cell · kid · pit · bore · race

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — shares
  6. race — humankind
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pit — in a race
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bore — to drill
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pit — a hole
  17. race — a contest
  18. stock — goods

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