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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: patient · kick · mug · snap · rash · march · cell · wave

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. kick — in football
  4. mug — a cup
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rash — a series
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. march — the month

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