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

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. bore — to tire
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bore — to drill
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fork — in a road
  13. game — wild animals
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. kid — child
  17. tear — to rip
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. kid — to tease
  20. game — a match
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. tear — from crying

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