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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · cold · last · bore · pound · plane · nail · stock

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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. rule — a law
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — final
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. last — to go on
  11. pound — a weight
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stock — goods
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rule — government
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to tire
  20. plane — a tool
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. bore — to drill
  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