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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: tear · patient · bore · pound · cell · present · object · cold

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. tear — to rip
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. object — to protest
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. object — an aim
  8. present — a gift
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — the time now
  12. bore — to drill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pound — a weight
  17. object — a thing
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. present — there
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bore — gave birth

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