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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · jam · fall · bore · patient · wound · capital · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. fall — to drop
  24. patient — a sick person

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