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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. object — an aim
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. object — to protest
  9. mate — a friend
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. object — a thing
  16. row — a line
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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