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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. foot — a measure
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rule — government
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rule — a law
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. patient — a sick person

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