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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bear — the animal
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bore — to tire
  10. spring — the season
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. mate — a partner
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ruler — for measuring

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