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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. hand — help
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cue — a signal
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — in sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cue — a hint
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. cue — for pool
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bore — to drill

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