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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 120 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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 — gave birth
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a line
  11. rush — hurry
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. foot — a measure
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bound — certain
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bound — tied together
  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