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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pit — a hole
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bore — to tire
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. spring — the season
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — of water
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spring — a coil
  24. row — to paddle

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