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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: last · patient · kid · tube · drill · wind · cabinet · racket

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. last — final
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. tube — the underground
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wind — moving air
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — army training
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. drill — a practice
  16. tube — a container
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — to go on
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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