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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spell — magic
  3. rush — hurry
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. land — ground
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — letters
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. land — to come down
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kid — child
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. land — a country
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. spell — a short time
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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