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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 116 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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468
Word bank
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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — to tease
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bore — to tire
  8. swing — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  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