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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. deal — to handle
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a ring
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a music group
  15. hand — help
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. kick — with a leg

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