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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 120 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — to shout
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. bore — to drill
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. land — to come down
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  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