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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. bore — to drill
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bore — to tire
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. degree — from a university
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. degree — temperature

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