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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: kick · dip · fall · sharp · trunk · kid · march · patient

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. kid — to tease
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. march — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. fall — the season
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. march — the month
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — a sick person

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