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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. rule — government
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — help

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