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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: kid · bore · rock · lash · last · patient · degree · wind

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. last — to go on
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. last — final
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rock — music
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. last — finally
  23. bore — to tire
  24. degree — an amount

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