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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: patient · track · pitcher · chest · kick · lash · present · ground

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ground — the earth
  5. track — a path
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. kick — in football
  15. present — the time now
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. present — there
  18. ground — crushed
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — a position
  24. chest — a box

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