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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. mate — a friend
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. file — a line of people
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. sharp — clever
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mate — a partner
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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