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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 116 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 a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kick — in football
  4. key — the most important part
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. key — in music
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. game — a match
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rush — hurry
  15. pound — a weight
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — not warm
  18. drill — army training
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. drill — the tool

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