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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. rash — a series
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cue — a signal
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bore — to tire
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cue — for pool
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — the fish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — not warm
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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