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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. net — in sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. row — to paddle
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kick — in football
  21. row — a line
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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