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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — tied together
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bound — certain
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. field — farmland
  23. bound — obliged
  24. mouse — the animal

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