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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — to breed
  5. last — final
  6. drill — the tool
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mate — a friend
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pass — a permit
  16. drill — army training
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. last — finally
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — to go on
  21. kid — child
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kick — a thrill

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