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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.

Make a worksheet

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: patient · key · drill · row · cold · kick · mine · bear

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. row — to paddle
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — an illness
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kick — in football
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — not warm
  20. drill — the tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — for digging
  23. drill — army training
  24. row — a line

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