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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: rest · mark · drill · row · kick · patient · craft · chest

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. row — to paddle
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. craft — boats
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mark — a trace
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. rest — a break
  14. drill — the tool
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. mark — a grade
  17. rest — what's left
  18. chest — a box
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. kick — in football
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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