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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spring — of water
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — the season
  9. bore — to drill
  10. fork — in a road
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mate — to breed
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cap — of ice

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