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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bore — to drill
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. band — a ring
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a music group
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. rash — a series

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