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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: stand · race · game · straw · bore · bound · tear · pit

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. bound — certain
  2. bore — to tire
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stand — to bear
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bound — obliged
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. pit — in a race
  11. bound — tied together
  12. tear — to rip
  13. game — a match
  14. race — a contest
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bore — to drill
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. race — the arms race
  23. straw — a straw man
  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