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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bore — to tire
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. season — of the year
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. march — the month
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. net — for catching
  11. season — in sport
  12. bore — to drill
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — in sport
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. march — music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. march — the month
  24. net — after costs

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