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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. rule — government
  3. track — a song
  4. spell — letters
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bore — to drill
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spell — magic
  11. track — a path
  12. spell — a short time
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rule — a law
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. bore — to tire
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. scale — in music
  22. track — to keep track
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. cold — the Cold War

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