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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: bear · patient · bore · row · ground · arm · wave · kid

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — a position
  4. bear — the animal
  5. ground — the earth
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. row — a line
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. ground — crushed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. kid — child

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