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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. charge — a price
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. clip — a video
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — size or range
  10. clip — to cut
  11. charge — electricity
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kick — in football
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spring — the season
  18. charge — in control
  19. foot — a measure
  20. spring — a coil
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. scale — in music
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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