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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitch — completely
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — humankind
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. kick — in football
  12. race — a contest
  13. present — there
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. present — a gift
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wind — moving air

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