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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bore — to drill
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. scale — for weighing

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