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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. bore — to drill
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — a country
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. hand — help
  12. land — to come down
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. row — a line
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. land — ground
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a line of people
  24. hand — part of the body

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