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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: mug · cold · patient · trunk · game · bowl · cell · bore

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mug — a face
  4. game — a match
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mug — a cup
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bore — to drill
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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