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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: race · patient · saw · wind · mouse · wound · coach · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. race — the arms race
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. race — humankind
  24. wind — to turn a key

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