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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: lean · jam · cue · patient · kid · tear · cold · kick

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — thin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a hint
  6. tear — to rip
  7. kid — to tease
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a signal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. kick — in football
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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