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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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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: root · bore · hide · can · cold · object · race · fall

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. root — of a word
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. can — to be able to
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. root — of a plant
  9. race — humankind
  10. object — to protest
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — the cause
  16. can — a tin
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. can — a tin
  20. fall — to drop
  21. object — a thing
  22. race — a contest
  23. object — an aim
  24. race — the arms race

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