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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: pound · rush · bore · wound · game · race · patient · hand

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. game — a match
  5. wound — an injury
  6. race — humankind
  7. rush — hurry
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — in cards
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bore — to drill
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — an injury
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rush — to hurry

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