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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: nail · mine · shower · patient · bore · race · court · sharp

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. race — the arms race
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bore — to tire
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — for sport
  12. mine — for digging
  13. court — of a king
  14. sharp — clever
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — humankind
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bore — to drill
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — of law
  23. race — a contest
  24. sharp — exactly

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