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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. net — for catching
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — after costs
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. net — in sport
  9. game — wild animals
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — a match
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — not warm
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bore — to tire

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