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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 120 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. net — after costs
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bat — the animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. club — a group
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. sharp — clever
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rule — a law
  20. net — in sport
  21. club — for golf
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. net — for catching
  24. sharp — with an edge

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