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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 116 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mate — to breed
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spring — the season
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rest — a break
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — help
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bank — of a river
  24. kick — in football

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