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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. mate — a friend
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mate — to breed
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. drill — army training
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rule — government
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bore — to tire
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. snap — to click
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wind — moving air
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rule — a law
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — a practice

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