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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. mate — a friend
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bore — to drill
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. face — to confront
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — a law
  24. tube — a container

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