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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: chest · patient · bore · sharp · march · wave · bowl · kick

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. march — the month
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kick — in football
  8. bore — to tire
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. sharp — with an edge

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