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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 120 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: kick · nail · content · patient · land · race · arm · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. land — to come down
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. content — the amount
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. race — humankind
  14. land — ground
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. race — the arms race
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. content — happy

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