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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: bore · capital · race · kick · file · bound · mug · fork

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bound — certain
  3. race — humankind
  4. bore — to drill
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mug — to rob
  9. kick — in football
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. capital — money
  13. bore — to tire
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mug — a face
  17. capital — a city
  18. race — a contest
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fork — in a road
  24. file — a tool

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