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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — for golf
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kick — in football
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. season — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — to come from
  16. season — of the year
  17. club — for dancing
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. club — a group
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pound — a weight

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