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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. charge — electricity
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rush — hurry
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. charge — a price
  13. bore — to drill
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. charge — in control
  19. bore — to tire
  20. shower — rain
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. root — of a word

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