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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — to tire
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bore — to drill
  7. object — a thing
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. object — to protest
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. row — to paddle
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fall — to drop

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