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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. pop — soda
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pop — music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kick — in football
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. current — of water
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — electric
  16. band — a ring
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. current — happening now
  21. band — a music group
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. arm — a part of something

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