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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. hide — animal skin
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. court — of a king
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. court — for sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pop — soda
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — music
  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