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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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Word bank
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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: game · bore · deal · scale · wind · patient · roll · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. roll — a list
  5. deal — to handle
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a line
  8. roll — a cake
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bore — to tire
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. scale — size or range
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bore — to drill
  24. scale — in music

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