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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. spring — of water
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — to go on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — finally
  7. tube — the underground
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. kick — in football
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. tube — a container
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. last — final

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