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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mate — a partner
  7. kick — in football
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. drill — army training
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — in music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. row — a line
  18. scale — size or range
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. row — to paddle

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