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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. row — a line
  3. fine — all right
  4. bore — to drill
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bore — to tire
  7. march — the month
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. content — the amount
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. race — humankind
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. race — a contest
  17. season — in sport
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. season — of the year
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — music

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