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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 116 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: lean · wind · mark · kick · patient · cold · spell · drill

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. lean — thin
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. drill — army training
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. spell — letters
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — in football
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mark — a trace
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spell — magic
  24. kick — with a leg

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