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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: hand · row · kick · patient · track · cue · cold · chair

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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 — with a leg
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. track — to keep track
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. row — a line
  10. track — a path
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kick — in football
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — a signal
  20. track — a song
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. chair — a leader
  23. hand — part of the body
  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