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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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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: file · kid · drill · trunk · track · race · game · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a document
  5. bore — to tire
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bore — to drill
  10. track — a path
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — a contest
  13. game — a match
  14. track — to keep track
  15. race — the arms race
  16. track — a song
  17. game — wild animals
  18. drill — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. file — a tool
  22. race — humankind
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kid — child

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