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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · wind · patient · row · race · bat

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. 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. wind — moving air
  2. bore — to drill
  3. row — to paddle
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — the arms race
  9. row — a line
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bore — to tire
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. 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