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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bore — to drill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. squash — the sport
  10. row — a line
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. land — a country
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bore — to tire
  19. land — to come down
  20. band — a ring
  21. spring — the season
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a music group

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