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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. key — in music
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. key — for a lock
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. swing — to play on
  15. drill — the tool
  16. key — the most important part
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. drill — a practice
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. swing — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. drill — army training
  24. lie — to recline

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