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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: shower · mate · cold · bore · club · stand · racket · jam

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bore — to drill
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cold — not warm
  6. club — for golf
  7. stand — to bear
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mate — a friend
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. club — a group
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bore — to tire
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. shower — to wash
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. shower — rain
  24. mate — to breed

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