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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. plane — a tool
  7. chest — a box
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — an amount
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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