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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. pop — music
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. pop — to visit
  7. capital — money
  8. bore — to tire
  9. pop — soda
  10. drill — a practice
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bore — to drill
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a city
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. plane — in geometry

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