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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. game — a match
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bore — to drill
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cabinet — ministers

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