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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: race · fine · drill · pitch · cold · key · hand · bore

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. bore — to tire
  5. fine — high quality
  6. pitch — completely
  7. race — a contest
  8. drill — army training
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. fine — all right
  12. bore — to drill
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. fine — a penalty

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