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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: club · kid · bore · racket · patient · hand · face · nail

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. face — part of the head
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bore — to drill
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bore — to tire
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — child
  13. club — for dancing
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. hand — help
  21. club — for golf
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. face — to confront

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