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

Word bank: ruler · bore · toast · fork · cold · saw · swing · lie

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. toast — bread
  9. bore — to drill
  10. lie — to recline
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. saw — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. swing — music
  24. fork — to eat with

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