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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: club · kick · drill · patient · wind · chest

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. club — for golf
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — a group
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. drill — army training
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — for dancing

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