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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: kid · patient · kick · can · stem · cold · ball · saw

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — an illness
  4. saw — the tool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — in football
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. can — a tin
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. can — a tin

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