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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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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: club · kick · drill · patient · wind · chest · mouse · rash

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. chest — of your body
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — a series
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chest — a box
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. drill — army training
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rash — hasty
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. club — for dancing

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