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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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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: mate · patient · rash · chest · tear · kid · wound · bore

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mate — to breed
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — a friend
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bore — to drill
  20. chest — a box
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wound — an injury

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