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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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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 · game · pass · season · club · sharp · kick · patient

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pass — a permit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. club — for dancing
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — in football
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. hand — in cards
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. game — a match
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. season — of the year
  19. club — a group
  20. season — in sport
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. club — for golf
  23. hand — help
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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