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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: last · bore · ruler · cold · can · clip · track · fine

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. track — a song
  5. bore — to tire
  6. can — to be able to
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. clip — for paper
  13. track — a path
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — finally
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to drill
  24. ruler — for measuring

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