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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: mouse · bore · mate · rash · coach · kid · saw · cold

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — a series
  9. mate — a partner
  10. saw — the tool
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. kid — child
  17. bore — to drill
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bore — to tire

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