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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 120 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: temple · bass · mate · kick · file · bay · wind · patient

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. file — a line of people
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. file — a tool
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. kick — in football
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — a friend
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a document
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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