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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. rash — a series
  3. tube — the underground
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bore — to drill
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mate — to breed
  15. game — a match
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — a container
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bear — the animal
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bore — gave birth

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