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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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468
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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. mate — to breed
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fork — in a road
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — to drill
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rule — government
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. kid — child
  17. rule — a law
  18. hand — help
  19. mate — a friend
  20. kid — to tease
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. bore — gave birth

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