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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: patient · bore · current · fan · dip · pit · cabinet · hand

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bore — to drill
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. current — of water
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. current — happening now
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. dip — to sink
  21. current — electric
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. pit — a hole
  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