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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — a measure
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kick — in football
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. ground — a position
  16. season — in sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rule — a law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. rule — government
  22. season — of the year
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. capital — a city

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