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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bore — to drill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chest — a box
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — in geometry

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