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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: roll · patient · cell · kick · lean · file · wave · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. roll — a list
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. file — a tool
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. lean — thin
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — in biology
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. lean — to bend
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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