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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: mouse · bay · cold · bore · chest · race · row · mine

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. race — a contest
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. race — humankind
  12. chest — a box
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. row — a line
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mouse — the animal

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