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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: race · swing · kick · dip · drill · bore · bark · capital

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bore — to drill
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. drill — army training
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — in golf
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. drill — a practice
  17. swing — to play on
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kick — in football
  21. capital — money
  22. swing — music
  23. drill — the tool
  24. race — humankind

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