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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · cold · march · kick · patient · squash

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — the month
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — to crush
  13. kick — in football
  14. squash — the sport
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wind — moving air

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