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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. drill — army training
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bore — to drill
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. track — a path
  12. band — a ring
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — a song
  17. shower — rain
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. drill — the tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — a city
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. patient — a sick person

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