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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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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: race · capital · cold · lean · rush · bore · bear · bowl

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. lean — thin
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — to tire
  6. capital — a city
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bear — the animal
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. lean — to bend
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. capital — money
  23. cold — an illness
  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