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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: snap · cold · bat · lie · bore · rock · cell · race

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bore — to tire
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to click
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bore — to drill
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cell — a phone
  22. race — humankind
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bat — the animal

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