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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. kick — in football
  3. net — in sport
  4. march — the month
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. net — after costs
  10. kid — child
  11. net — for catching
  12. stem — to come from
  13. march — the month
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wind — moving air
  19. march — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — a line
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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