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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.

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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: kick · patient · nail · cap · ground · land · game · bass

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. land — a country
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — ground
  8. cap — a lid
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cap — a hat
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a match
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kick — in football
  19. ground — a position
  20. bass — low music
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. land — to come down
  24. nail — for a hammer

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