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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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Word bank
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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: mine · lie · saw · patient · cabinet · club · kick · chest

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for golf
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — a group
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lie — to recline
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. club — for dancing
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chest — a box
  24. saw — the tool

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