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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: bore · cap · rule · stand · date · land · temple · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — to come down
  3. bore — to drill
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — child
  6. land — ground
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. rule — government
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rule — a law
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cap — a lid
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. date — on the calendar

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