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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. net — for catching
  4. mate — a partner
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — to rob
  8. root — of a word
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. root — the cause
  12. mate — to breed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — in sport
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mate — a friend
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. club — for golf
  24. net — after costs

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