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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · last · calf · club · drill · content · swing · patient

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. content — happy
  3. hand — in cards
  4. last — final
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. club — for golf
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. club — a group
  9. content — the amount
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. drill — army training
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. drill — a practice
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hand — help
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. club — for dancing
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. swing — in golf
  20. last — finally
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — to play on

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