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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bore — to tire
  3. file — a document
  4. wound — an injury
  5. lean — to bend
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — an injury
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lean — thin
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bore — to drill
  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