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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bore — to drill
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wake — a trail
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cell — in biology

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