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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. spell — a short time
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. face — to confront
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bore — to drill
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. face — to point toward
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. mate — a partner
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — a friend
  15. spell — magic
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. spell — letters
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — not warm

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