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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spring — of water
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a cake
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. roll — a list
  10. spring — the season
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chest — a box
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. 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