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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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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 · rash · bore · drill · content · field · dip · hand

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. field — farmland
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rash — a series
  6. content — the amount
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. drill — a practice
  9. race — a contest
  10. rash — hasty
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. bore — to tire
  14. drill — army training
  15. hand — in cards
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — the tool
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bore — to drill

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