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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stand — to bear
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bank — for money
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bank — of a river
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bank — for money

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