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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: object · ground · bore · chest · cold · cabinet · rule · spring

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. object — a thing
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. ground — crushed
  8. object — an aim
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rule — a law
  13. chest — a box
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. object — to protest
  19. rule — government
  20. spring — of water
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — a position

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