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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — for sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. field — farmland
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — a measure
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. hand — help
  17. field — a subject
  18. wake — a trail

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