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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bore — to tire
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a friend
  6. court — of a king
  7. bore — to drill
  8. court — of law
  9. rule — government
  10. kid — to tease
  11. land — ground
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. last — final
  14. rule — a law
  15. mate — a partner
  16. court — for sport
  17. perch — the fish
  18. last — to go on
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — a country
  22. last — finally
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mate — to breed

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