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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hand — help
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — in cards
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mug — to rob
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — to tire
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. lie — to recline
  19. file — a tool
  20. mug — a face
  21. file — a line of people
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. snap — to click

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