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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: file · bound · mine · race · ground · content · bore · squash

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. race — humankind
  3. bore — to drill
  4. ground — the earth
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a line of people
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — a contest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bore — to tire
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bound — certain
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bound — tied together
  16. content — happy
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. ground — a position
  22. race — the arms race
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — for digging

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