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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: bear · track · cold · patient · kid · bore · fine · mine

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mine — for digging
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. track — a path
  16. bear — the animal
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. track — a song
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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