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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — thin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bore — to drill
  8. fall — to drop
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. fall — the season
  11. cell — a phone
  12. roll — a list
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. roll — a cake

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