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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · ball · patient · kick · leaves · bore · hand · fan

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. game — a match
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kick — in football
  12. hand — help
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. bore — to drill
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bore — to tire
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a round shape

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