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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · cold · bore · rush · board · key · mate · nail

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — the most important part
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — to get on
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rush — hurry
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. key — in music
  20. board — a committee
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. nail — for a hammer

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