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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · kick · ground · wound · spell · tube · rash · patient

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. ground — a position
  5. rash — hasty
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spell — letters
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ground — crushed
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — a series
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — the underground
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tube — a container
  19. kick — in football
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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