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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: race · rule · cold · bore · roll · pitch

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bore — to drill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. race — humankind
  9. bore — to tire
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rule — government
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — not warm
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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