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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: saw · fork · mate · cold · cue · shower · rule · bore

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rule — government
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cue — for pool
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cue — a signal
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bore — to drill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rule — a law

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