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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: patient · temple · fall · pitch · lean · kick · last · cell

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. lean — to bend
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — in biology
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. last — to go on
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. last — finally
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. last — final
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — thin
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. cell — a phone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pitch — completely
  24. patient — a sick person

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