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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to drill
  7. season — in sport
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. kid — to tease
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — child
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. roll — a list
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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