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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 116 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bore — to tire
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. object — a thing
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — to drill
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. land — ground
  18. object — an aim
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. object — to protest
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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