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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · bore · land · patient · race · shower · march · calf

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. land — ground
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. race — a contest
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bore — to tire
  8. march — the month
  9. bore — to drill
  10. file — a tool
  11. shower — rain
  12. race — the arms race
  13. shower — to wash
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. race — humankind
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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