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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: ball · mark · kid · race · calf · spring · patient · pop

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. race — a contest
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mark — a grade
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kid — child
  7. pop — soda
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spring — a coil
  13. race — humankind
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pop — to visit
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pop — music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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