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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 120 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: pound · snap · kid · arm · rush · patient · kick · clip

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — a weight
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. kick — in football
  10. snap — to click
  11. kid — child
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — for paper
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — a video
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. kid — to tease
  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