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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
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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: bore · straw · cold · mark · patient · dip · season · court

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cold — not warm
  5. dip — to sink
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a trace
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. court — of a king
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — to tire
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — to drill
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — in sport
  24. mark — a grade

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