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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 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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cell — a phone
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. field — a subject
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. arm — part of the 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