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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: kick · arm · patient · kid · trunk · row · season · mouse

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — in football
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — child
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. season — of the year
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — in sport
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. arm — a part of something

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