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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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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: nail · board · root · patient · cold · drill · pitcher · tear

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. root — of a plant
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cold — an illness
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. root — the cause
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — not warm
  14. root — of a word
  15. drill — army training
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. board — a committee
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. board — to get on
  24. tear — from crying

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