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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. band — a music group
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — in football
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. last — finally
  11. object — to protest
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. root — of a plant
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. shower — rain
  20. snap — to click
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. root — the cause
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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