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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — a safe
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. board — a committee
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chest — of your body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chest — a box
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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