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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cap — a lid
  6. band — a ring
  7. mate — a friend
  8. band — a music group
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mate — a partner
  12. tear — to rip
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. foot — a measure
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cap — a hat
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tear — from crying

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