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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 120 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: ground · race · mouse · fine · stand · cell · wind · bore

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fine — all right
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stand — to bear
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. fine — high quality
  20. race — a contest
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. race — humankind
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wind — to turn a key

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