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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: present · kid · patient · bowl · snap · kick · capital · wound

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. present — the time now
  5. wound — an injury
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kid — to tease
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. present — a gift
  11. snap — to click
  12. present — there
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. kid — child
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — an injury

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