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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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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: stock · cell · kid · pit · bore · race · hand · present

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bore — to drill
  3. hand — help
  4. kid — child
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — a contest
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stock — shares
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pit — in a race
  16. race — the arms race
  17. present — there
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. present — the time now
  24. cell — in biology

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