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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. game — wild animals
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. club — for golf
  11. game — a match
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. march — music
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fork — to eat with

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