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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 116 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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Word bank
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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 · cold · spring · mine · stock · race · drill · charge

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — humankind
  5. charge — electricity
  6. stock — goods
  7. drill — the tool
  8. spring — the season
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — in control
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stock — shares
  18. bore — to tire
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. charge — a price
  21. race — a contest
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bore — gave birth

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