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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · patient · bear · pitcher · hand · racket · saw · kick

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — to paddle
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bear — the animal

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