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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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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: can · wound · dip · race · drill · roll · date · kid

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — child
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. can — to be able to
  8. race — the arms race
  9. drill — the tool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. date — the fruit
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. race — a contest
  17. roll — a list
  18. drill — army training
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wound — an injury
  24. can — a tin

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