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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 116 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: cell · cap · tear · cold · patient · row · bore · spell

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spell — magic
  4. cell — in biology
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bore — to drill
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cap — a hat
  24. row — a line

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