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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cue — for pool
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cue — a hint
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — child
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cue — a signal
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — a country

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