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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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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: cold · last · foot · patient · object · content · kick · bark

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. content — happy
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. object — to protest
  14. cold — not warm
  15. content — the amount
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — an aim
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. object — a thing
  21. foot — a measure
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bark — to shout
  24. last — final

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