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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. court — of law
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bore — to drill
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — to wash
  8. band — a ring
  9. mate — a partner
  10. court — for sport
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — not warm
  14. shower — rain
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bore — to tire
  20. mate — to breed
  21. band — a music group
  22. cold — an illness
  23. court — of a king
  24. bore — gave birth

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