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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
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: ball · clip · rash · charge · bore · cold · patient · season

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. season — of the year
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. season — in sport
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bore — to tire
  12. charge — in control
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rash — a series
  22. clip — to cut
  23. charge — a price
  24. rash — hasty

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