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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. bore — to drill
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. field — a subject
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. face — part of the head
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. shower — to wash
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. face — to point toward
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. field — farmland
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. dip — to sink
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. shower — rain

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