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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. bear — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — to rip
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a leader

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