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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: wind · kick · patient · pound · march · net · shower · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — for catching
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lie — to recline
  11. march — the month
  12. net — after costs
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. shower — rain
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kick — in football
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. shower — to wash

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