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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — the animal
  6. foot — a measure
  7. capital — money
  8. clip — for paper
  9. capital — a city
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bass — the fish
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. hand — help
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hand — in cards
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. foot — the bottom

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