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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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. kid — child
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. cue — for pool
  7. bore — to drill
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. charge — electricity
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. charge — in control
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bore — to tire
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — rain
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. charge — a price

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