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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: saw · face · ruler · bore · club · court · date · cold

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. court — of a king
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. club — for golf
  15. court — of law
  16. bore — to tire
  17. date — the fruit
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — a group
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. face — to confront
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bore — to drill

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