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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · last · patient · season · content · wax · mine

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. last — final
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — in football
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. last — finally
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chest — a box
  15. season — of the year
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. last — to go on
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. content — happy
  23. mine — for digging
  24. season — in sport

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