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

Word bank: straw · rest · kick · patient · hide · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. rest — what's left
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a ring
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rest — a break
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass

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