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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: mine · toast · chest · hand · bore · saw · patient · trunk

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — a box
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. toast — bread
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — help
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bore — to drill
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — in cards

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