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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. hand — help
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. root — the cause
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. lean — to bend
  13. scale — size or range
  14. root — of a plant
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lean — thin
  19. root — of a word
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. ball — a dance
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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