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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cold — not warm
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. file — a tool
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. sharp — clever
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — the animal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. calf — a young animal

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