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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: bore · bay · lash · race · face · march · court · game

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. race — the arms race
  4. march — the month
  5. court — for sport
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. bore — to drill
  11. march — the month
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. court — of law
  14. face — to confront
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. race — a contest
  17. march — music
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. game — a match
  21. race — humankind
  22. face — to point toward
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — wild animals

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