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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: calf · wind · degree · swing · patient · date · lie · kick

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wind — moving air
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. lie — to recline
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — from a university
  10. swing — to play on
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wind — moving air
  19. swing — in golf
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. swing — music
  22. kick — in football
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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