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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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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fall — the season
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — to grow
  6. present — the time now
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. file — a document
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. face — part of the head
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — to paddle
  17. face — to confront
  18. file — a tool
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. face — to point toward

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