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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 120 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: patient · prune · season · mug · hand · net · vault · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. season — of the year
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kick — in football
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. hand — help
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. net — for catching
  14. mug — a face
  15. mug — a cup
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. vault — a safe
  22. net — in sport
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. mug — to rob

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