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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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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: foot · hand · game · kid · shower · patient · kick · chest

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. shower — to wash
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kick — in football
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — rain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chest — a box
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chest — of your body

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