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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: row · bark · patient · mine · bore · tube · cell · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bore — to drill
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — in biology
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. tube — a container
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mine — for digging
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bark — to shout
  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