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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lie — to recline
  11. season — in sport
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bore — to drill
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — to go on
  21. net — after costs
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — finally

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