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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.

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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stem — to come from
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bark — to shout
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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