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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kick — in football
  3. hand — in cards
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. vault — a safe
  12. hand — help
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. race — a contest
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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