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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. land — a country
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. field — farmland
  9. saw — the tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. saw — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bear — the animal
  14. land — ground
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — for sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — to come down
  21. bore — to drill
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chest — a box
  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